Naomi said, “Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her god.  Follow your sister-in-law.”

But Ruth replied:  Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you.  For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.  Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried.  May Yahweh punish me and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.  Ruth 1:15-17  HCSB

I hope that you had a good resurrection week.  I began the resurrection day by attending a great church service where we celebrated the Lord’s Supper.  I then had lunch with my family and dinner with my in-laws.  All in all a good day, but the topping on the sundae came when I found that my step-son had proposed to his girlfriend (now officially his fiancée).  This wonderful young woman has been a part of our family for just over four years now and I was overjoyed when I realized that he was making it official.

Due to busy schedules, I haven’t spent as much time with them as I would like to, but I have always sensed their love for each other and their commitment to each other in the time that we have had with them.  This is refreshing in a world where commitment is something that is severely lacking. My prayer for them as they begin this new phase of their life together is that their commitment remains strong and that they grow in the love of the Lord.

I hit a few bumps in the road before I found my forever love.  You see, when we choose our spouse and don’t put God first and allow Him to choose our spouse, we can have problems. If we don’t keep God at the forefront of our marriages and our family life, they can fall apart before we even realize what is happening.  I finally got that. In our scripture passage today, Naomi’s sons and husband have died.  She is traveling home to her people.  She encourages her young daughters-in-law to return to their homelands as well. However, her daughter-in-law Ruth refuses to leave her.  Even though Naomi begs Ruth to go home to her own people, Ruth refuses to dessert Naomi.

I want to ask you today, how committed are you?  Our relationship with Christ is reflected in all that we do.  If you have some half baked commitment to Christ, then all of your other commitments are probably severely lacking as well. So, what if your spouse was sort of committed?  Would that be okay with you?

If your spouse only showed up at your house every now and then or at Christmas and Easter would that be okay with you?  If they only spent time with you when they had nothing else better to do, would that be good enough?  If they loved you on Sunday, but cursed you on Monday, would that be okay? If they had many other things in their life that came before you, would that be good with you?  Now, I don’t know about you, but my answer to all these questions is a definite NO!  I want my husband to be 100% committed 24/7.  And guess what?  This is exactly what God wants from us.

God wants us to be committed to Him all of the time.  He wants us to be committed to Him in richness and poverty, in sickness and in health, in the good and the bad times.  He wants us to forsake all others.  He doesn’t want some fickle, flimsy type of commitment.  He wants us to be all in.

So, I ask you today, are you committed?  Do you have the type of commitment to Christ that Ruth had for her mother-in-law?  Are you willing to go wherever He leads?  Are you willing to submit to Him and His will for your life?  Are you willing to forsake all others?

Now we know that Ruth was blessed for her commitment.  She was blessed by marrying a wonderful man who also happened to be wealthy. Although these two women faced a bleak future, this man redeemed them just as Christ redeems us.  God blessed them with a son who was the grandfather of David and was in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

The story of Ruth is a beautiful story of commitment and redemption.  It shows how God blesses us for our commitment to Him. The entire book of Ruth is just 4 chapters and it is a wonderful story.  Better than any work of fiction you will find today.

So, today, I ask you to examine your commitment to Him.  Is it that kind of commitment?  Is it the type of commitment that Ruth had to Naomi?  Is it the kind of commitment that can weather any storm?  If it is not, then you can change that.  You can commit to Christ with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.  God blesses those of us who commit to Him wholeheartedly.  Don’t miss out on your blessing.  Commit to Him today, before it’s too late.

Have a great weekend!