Prayer Journal
Monday, October 30, 2000
Elimelech and Naomi were from Bethlehem and had two sons who each married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. With the death of Elimelech, Naomi became a widow and then after losing both sons decided to go back home. She told her daughter in laws that she loved them but they needed to go home to their own people where they could marry and have children.
Reluctantly Orpah did so, but Ruth refused to leave her mother in law and begged her to allow her to go with her to Bethlehem. Today, these words of Ruth grace many marriage ceremonies as a beautiful statement of love and loyalty:
"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, ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.'"
A loyal person is often viewed as one having deep spiritual roots and rightly so. Only a person with an appreciation for loyalty will prove loyal. Ruth was viewed as such a person and Boaz, her future husband, told her so; "All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character." 3:11b
Today, we use the term "fair-weather friend" to describe those who strangely are missing when the going gets rough. Ruth found in Naomi one who was a faithful friend. She found in Naomi's a people a sense of family and loyalty. Ruth did not want to abandon her mother-in-law, nor did she want to lose her "extended" family. She was welcomed into the family of God and she didn't want to leave it.
Is loyalty apparent in and around you today? The truth is, to be loyal we must each be loyal. To have a friend , we must be a friend. May others see in us a noble character that points others to our loyal Friend named Jesus.
Just Thinkin'.. WebServant
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
