"16 But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging"
Ruth 1:16-18
Meet Ruth. She is one of only a handful of faithful women discussed in the Bible. She was fiercely loyal, she was strong, she was a woman to be admired.
She was also not a Jew. She was a Moabite--a people who, in that time, were hated and in a bitter rivalry with the Jewish people. However, she did not let her cultural differences separate her from the one true God, nor did she let her culture keep her from being a faithful and loyal companion to her Jewish widowed mother-in-law.
Ruth was also going through a difficult time. Her husband had also passed away. But there was a significant difference between her and her mother-in-law: age. Ruth was young! She would likely have no problem getting remarried and find a life of relative security in her own homeland. However, Ruth refused to be sent away. She decided she would not leave her mother-in-law to fend for herself. She would accompany her and support her.
We can all learn a thing or two from Ruth. This girl knew how to be loyal. She had spunk. She knew how to be faithful. This was not an easy thing for her to do. She could have had a much easier life back home. However, she did not let difficulty stand in the way of being faithful to her mother-in-law and, also, faithful to her God.
I pray that God would give me the strength, confidence, and resolve of Ruth. She is truly inspirational.
I, too, pray for that kind of devotion. THanks for another thoughtful post!
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