Ruth
Called Beyond
Credentials
Ruth 1:16-17 But
Ruth said, "Don't force me to leave you; don't make me go home. Where you
go, I go; and where you live, I'll live. Your people are my people, your God is
my god; where you die, I'll die, and that's where I'll be buried, so help me God—not even death itself is going
to come between us!"
Ruth is a really
short book of the Bible that tells a beautiful love story about a Moabite woman
(Ruth) who moved with her mother-in-law to Israel after becoming a widow.
There could be no further ends of the spectrum than Moab and Israel! In fact,
in present-day terms, that comparison is similar to black and white, Jew and
Gentile, slave and free. Yet, Ruth was moved by God to become an Israelite, to
adopt their customs, ways, and traditions, to submerge her very existence in a new
way of living.
In Ruth’s
obedience to her mother-in-law, and eventually in her marriage to a prominent
Israelite named Boaz, God wove a beautiful tapestry of faith and courage! She
became the great, great grandmother to God’s son, Jesus!
Look at this verse in
1 Peter 1:23: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever.” When
we say yes to God and his Son, we step into a new way of life. Our “old
man” genetics try to stay in the driver’s seat, but spiritually
we have become an entirely new creature. We have to educate ourselves about
our new “incorruptible” environment with God’s Word.
We have to leave the old, and walk toward the new, submerging ourselves in a
glorious new culture that God has provided for us. Ruth’s story is just
a shadow of what God planned to do for us in Christ! He saw us and loved us,
and knew His environment of unconditional love could transform the
toughest of cases! Let us walk in courage, as we trust our Father to make our
lives begin to reflect His heart, one day at a time!
Jennifer
Biblical
Meditation: Hebrews
13:6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his
house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.