Day 9: The Impact Of Your Faith (Ruth 1:14-18)
Today’s Passage: Ruth 1:14-18
Do you “people watch”? Some folks do. There are of course different levels of “people watching”. Some folks casually observe others at the mall, restaurants or in a number of other places. Other people scrutinize individuals. My observation is we all watch a few folks closely.
A co-worker once shared with me that while he was driving his adult son, he was talking with him, teaching him, about the importance of integrity. He confessed he was wildly elegant, and after having gone on for a bit, his son asked him about the radar detector on his dashboard—ouch! I greatly respected him for telling us this story.
People, especially those close to us, “catch our values”. Not by what we say, but what they observe us do.
When it comes to our faith, this is especially true in times of difficulty and pain. You might wonder why. I want to suggest that in moments of pain, people often draw close to us. While we cannot see our impact (because of our own pain) we affect them more than we can imagine.
These few verses of Scripture introduce us at a deeper level to Ruth.
16 Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
Before we delve into the character of Ruth, consider what must have led to this reaction. Naomi must have been a remarkable mother-in-law. Both Orpah and Ruth are distraught over Ruth seeking to send them back to their homeland. When I reflect on the situation, it would seem natural that they might have a sense of relief, and yet they do not.
Ruth’s witness to these two younger women, throughout their common lives, has planted their love for her in their hearts. Orpah is obedient and returns. Ruth clings.
The word for cling (clung) we find elsewhere in Scripture. It is the word used to describe the relationship between husband and wife in Genesis 2:24, and also between God and his people in Deuteronomy 20:10.
It is probable that Ruth’s proclamation that she will embrace Naomi’s God is because the custom of the day is to embrace the local God—in Naomi’s case this is the God of Bethlehem. But I think it goes deeper. I think Ruth sees how Naomi’s God has buoyed her through what has been a remarkably difficult life.
In other words, Ruth has been watching Naomi and her faith. It has impacted Ruth so much that she wants what Ruth has—even when the world would say Ruth has nothing!
Oh that my life would shine with faith, so that others would see God.