The Book of Ruth

Do you all know "Ruth" from the Old Testament? I was telling my dad about her the other day when he asked what I had done that day. I told him I went to Women's Bible Study and I proceeded to tell him about Ruth. He had never heard of her! We had done a study several years back on "Women of the Bible", so yes, I knew about Ruth.

What I LOVE about Ruth is her devotion, LOVE, respect, and care for her Mother-in-law! Yes, you read it right, mother-in-law! In Ruth 1: 17-18, she says, "Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us."

Ruth finds faith in the context of family! Millions of believers after Ruth have found faith in the context of fellowship. When we find God, we find others, and we find ourselves as well. Saint John writes, "for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20).

I think we can all learn something from Ruth. Even though her husband died and Naomi, her mother-in-law, tried to send her back to "her own people, back to her parents and country", Ruth refused to go. In the Old Testament families took care of each other, many generations living under one roof. How often today do we see the elderly living in a nursing home, a retirement facility, or an assisted living facility and never being visited by family...or at least not very often! It certainly gives one something to think about. Where do we want to be at the end or nearing the end of our lives? Do we want our children to care enough about us to be close by and providing comfort and love? I am not saying the elderly should NOT go to a facility, I think some are absolutely fabulous and one can have many friends and conversations whereas in their own home, they often have no one with whom to talk. "I'm just sayin' keep the love, respect, caring for our elderly close to our hearts. Don't let them end their days alone. Be sure they know that they are treasured and cherished in this world and will surely be in the next with our God.