Ruth...

So - this morning as I have been reading through the Bible - I got to Ruth. I have read Ruth before, and I always read it and admire the nobility and provision that comes from Boaz. He is a man who takes a woman, and bestows on her the rights and riches and honor that she is not worthy of. However, today as I read it, something new hit me.

The struggle that is Ruth's life was made apparent to me this morning. As I read her story, and put myself in her shoes - I was blown away by her heart. She loses her husband and hope of a future. Her family is torn apart, a family that by her actions we know she loves deeply. Her mother-in-law tells her to go home, and she is so in love with Naomi and her family that she refuses to take the easy and socially acceptable path, but to stay near to her mother... she goes to work and risks her life to bring food home and provide for herself and Naomi. She is obedient when Naomi tells her to go in to Boaz on the threshing floor. She is humble and grateful when Boaz blesses her with food.

Ruth, choose the tough road - not because she had to, but because I believe she felt the love of God. Naomi is willing to leave the false gods of the Moabite people, in pursuit of the true God of Israel. She gets a taste of that in Naomi and her family, and than I am sure immerses herself in that when she meets Boaz - a man who is noble, trustworthy, full of integrity and honest in all his actions. He cherishes her, cares for her, loves her, provides for her and lavishes love on her - and she does nothing to deserve it, and he is under no obligation to provide it. Boaz loves her, because he does.

And Ruth, her obedience and faithfulness - how's it rewarded? She gives birth to the grandfather of David! The Moabite woman, who was faced with a decision - follow after Naomi and God, or return to the familiar and false gods - she choose to pursue God and abandon everything else. And from her lineage comes the greatest king of Israel in the Old Testament, a man after God's own heart - not to mention she ends up in the lineage of Jesus!

Obedience sometimes requires sacrifice. Sometimes, as a follower of Jesus - we are faced with decisions, and they aren't always easy, but just like Ruth - with reckless abandon and when the choices may not make sense, or even seem to be in our best interest - to choose God's path is always the wise decision. We can do nothing to earn or deserve the love that God pours out on us, and the blessing we receive are nothing more than grace from a loving Father. But, much like Ruth, we can make choices and decisions to place ourselves in the path of those blessings.

What is your choice?