Wherever You Go
When I was young, my dad used to tell us stories. I
had two favorites that I would always ask for. One was the story of Daniel and
the other was the story of Ruth. We learned of a family who were forced to
immigrate to another country because of the famine in Bethlehem, but were
chased by devastation. I loved to hear about Ruth. He would tell of the drama
and pain of losing her husband, his brothers and father. How she loved this new
family and her new mother, and didn’t not want to leave her when things got hard
for these immigrants. How she chose to follow Naomi into a new land and live
with a new people and a new religion. We heard of her struggles to feed herself
and Naomi and how she had to work and struggle to get by. And we learned about
how life moved on, how a new love could be found and a new family created. Dad
taught us about how God would change the life of this immigrant and make her
the great grandmother of King David.
The story of Ruth still tugs
at my heart strings. This is the story of three people, Naomi, Ruth and Boaz,
who through tough circumstance find each other and figure out how to walk
together on a path that leads to healing and wholeness. While Naomi wants to
give up, through the hard work and persistence of Ruth, she is brought back to
life and faith. Will we be like Naomi and dare to name the broken places in our lives and the world?
Boaz sees the hard work Ruth
has put into feeding and taking care of Naomi who has given up. Boaz sees this
love and help to ease Ruth’s burden by making finding food easier and his
generosity leads to the creation of a new family and home. We we like Boaz, say let me help even if the cost is great and may change our lives.
Ruth is a woman who takes the law and challenges people to
live beyond common practice, to live as God intended not as it is written. Ruth
is a woman who pushes us to believe that the world can be different and then
sets out to see that it happens. Ruth is a woman who comes to believe in God
and then challenges others to be better in their faith. Will we like Ruth hear the brokenness in the world and commit to be there with others through the pain?
Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your
people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die, I
will die—there will I be buried.” Ruth 1:16-17
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