January 14, 2019
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I greet and bless everyone in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. The blessed word that God has given you for today is from the book of Ruth 1:16, 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. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
The above context shows the intimate relationship between Ruth and Her mother in law Naomi. Naomi went with her husband and her two sons to Moab from Bethlehem as there was a famine in the Land. Suddenly her husband died and she somehow managed to live with her sons peacefully. She got them married with Moabites women. During the course of time her two sons also died leaving their young wives as widows. It was a miserable and painful moment for Naomi. So she decided to leave Moab and return back to Bethlehem. She was so frustrated in life that she called her daughter in laws and asked them to return to their father’s house.
Orpah kissed her mother in law and went to her home. But Ruth refused to return to her father’s house. She held on to her mother in law firmly and said, “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.” She held on to Naomi because she loved Jesus. Since she came along with Ruth, God blessed her abundantly. She worked for Boaz a rich man, in his farm and found grace in the eyes of Boaz. Later she got married to him. God rejuvenated her life once again. She was like a dry parched tree but God made her bloom. God rewarded her for her faithfulness to her mother in law. God is a righteous God. Orpah’s story ended after she left Naomi. But the story of Ruth continues. The book of Ruth in the Bible, speaks volumes about her goodness. Therefore God blessed her with a son Obed, through whose genealogy Jesus was born. Thus God blessed the latter part of their life, both Naomi and Ruth.
Dear Brothers and Sisters I urge you to hold on to Jesus the way Ruth held onto her mother in law. Then your life will be prosperous. He makes all things new. God says, I will gird you, though you have not known Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, I make peace. I the Lord do all these things.
God bless you.
Prayer:
Our loving heavenly Father, we thank You for this blessed day. Thank You Lord for teaching us to hold on to Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to be like Ruth who never forsook her mother in law even in her old age. May we share the love of God with others in our life. Teach us to be humble and long suffering so that we may attain God’s grace. In Jesus Name we pray.
Amen.
