But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall me my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.
Ruth 1:16-17
Do you love you mother-in-law? I do love mine. But I can’t imagine the devotion Ruth had to Naomi. I can’t imagine leaving my mother and father, knowing I would never see them again, to follow my mother-in-law.
I think that’s part of what makes Ruth’s proclamation so amazing to us — it wasn’t a promise to the man she loved, but it also wasn’t really a promise to her mother-in-law either.
Ruth’s words were rooted in the hope of the God Naomi served. Ruth wanted to know Him … and she realized the only way was to go with Naomi and learn from her.
It’s easy for us to repeat Ruth’s words in our wedding ceremony … we’re full of dreams about what our marriage will be. But what about ten years in … when babies have changed our bodies and sleep is something we remember but rarely experience. What about twenty years in … when teenagers stretch us and financial issues worry us. What about thirty years in … when the empty nest is reality.
What about …
There will always be forces seeking to pull us away from our commitment to love each other and put each other first and serve each other. Only our faith in God and desire to seek Him first will keep the threads of love from pulling apart. Darlene Zschech has this beautiful lyric,
Jesus at the center of it all
Jesus at the center of it all
From beginning to the end
It will always be, it’s always been You
Jesus, Jesus. {Source}
Jesus at the center. Yes, just yes.
Lord, we long for You to be the center of all it all — of the days and the nights, the good times and the hard times, of everything we face, of every decision we make. For today and all the tomorrows ahead of us, we pray we will be draw ever closer to one another as we continually draw closer to You, our faithful and gracious God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Image source: magdeleine.com
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