Love and Commitment vs. Convenience {Ruth Series #3}

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Hello there ! As I'm reading the Book of Ruth this month, I'm realizing that although this book only has 4 chapters, the lessons are so numerous and profound !

I am starting in verse 7 of Ruth chapter 1 today. Naomi had made the decision to go back to her hometown after she had lost her husband and two sons. And so she and her daughters-in-law who were also widowed set foot to make the journey back to Judah. On the way, Naomi turns to her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah and encourages them to leave her and go back home (verses 8-10). After much convincing, Orpah kisses her mother-in-law and turns back to go to Moab.

Ruth on the other hand does something that apparently warranted recording in the Bible and utters these famous words :

Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you;

          For wherever you go, I will go;

And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;

Your people shall be my people,

And your God, my God.

And there will I be buried.Where you die, I will die,

The Lord do so to me, and more also,

If anything but death parts you and me.” - Ruth 1:16-17

Such beautiful words but the thing about Ruth is that she did not simply say these words. She backed it up with the action of actually returning with Naomi ; bereaved and embittered Naomi. Friends, Ruth had several reasons to go back home just like Orpah and she would not have been wrong.

1. Naomi had given her permission to go back to her home, family, gods, food etc. Easy ! After all who likes being out of their comfort zone ?
2. Let's face it. Naomi was a bitter woman. It is never easy to live with a bitter person.
3. Ruth was choosing an unknown path. What would happen to her in Judah ? Would she be accepted as a foreigner in the land of the Jews ? Would she ever get married ? Would she ever have kids ? Would she ever fit in ? (Having immigrated to the US from Ghana, I know what that can feel like first-hand). 

Maybe you can think of other reasons why Ruth going with Naomi was not such a convenient idea. It is obvious however, that Ruth loved Naomi and was committed to accompanying her to Judah. She chose love and commitment to a whole new way of life over what she was used to ; over what was CONVENIENT. Her whole-hearted choice landed her not just in the Bible but in the very blood-line of Jesus.

If there is anything I have learned it is that God's plans for us are not always convenient. In fact, I find that people who have been used greatly by the Lord are those people who have made the biggest sacrifices and have had to move completely out of the familiar and convenient. The people with the best marriages are those who've overcome the biggest obstacles and put their spouses before them. 

Simply put : great things come at a great price and if we really want in, we must be willing to pay the price. There is no way around it (and if you do get around it, realize that that may certainly not be God's will for your life). 

In Ruth's case, she had found the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the life of Ruth. She had probably heard of the mighty deeds God had done on behalf of His people and was awe-struck by this mighty God. She saw an opportunity to go and live in the land where she would begin to serve this mighty God whole-heartedly and she was not about to give that opportunity up for all the convenience in the world. 

Questions for You : 

• What will you give up to serve the Lord unashamedly, with no reservations and with all your being ? 
• Friend, can we confidently say that we've laid everything on the altar for Him ?

What does it cost to follow Jesus ? Jesus Himself answered it a long time ago. His standards have not changed.

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. - Luke 9:23-24 

Need I really say more ?
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In case you missed , here are the first 2 installments in the Ruth Series

When Green Pastures Turn out to be NOT so green {Ruth series #1}

Going Back to Square One {Ruth Series #2}