It Takes A Village – Week 8
In the book of Ruth we find nestled within the country of Moab a farm of simples means in a village off the beaten path. There was a time of great famine so a man named Elimelech from Bethlehem in Judah took his wife and two young sons and settled there. Then came the day when he passed away leaving his wife Naomi a widow. Their two sons married Moabite wives giving Naomi two daughters-in-law. Then her sons passed and Naomi was left with her daughters-in-law, all three women struggling with their fear and grief.
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
Ruth 1:16-17
Naomi urged her daughters to leave her and head back to their own families where they could live amongst their people, remarry, and have a chance at a future. But the depth of their bond and sense of community is witnessed by the outpouring of tears and protests. Orpah reluctantly left returning to her village, but Ruth embraced her love and need for Naomi aligning herself as one of Naomi’s own and refused to let go. So both women travelled on to Bethlehem to pick up the pieces and begin life anew. The scriptures go on to unfold one of the greatest stories of loyalty in mankind. The strength of Ruth’s character and her loyalty to Naomi greatly blessed her resulting in an advantageous marriage to a man named Boaz giving both she and Naomi a secure and protected future.
Life Application:
Though each and every one of us are born into a unique blood bond, those bonds do not always define us. The families of which we are raised are not of our choosing but Gods. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts and blessings we are given by the power of freewill and salvation is the opportunity to align ourselves with those who’s people become our people and who’s God becomes our God. Community has a beautiful way of tying together individuals who may be different in every conceivable way but likeminded in support, love, and encouragement. And the success of a community greatly lies in the loyalty of those who make their home within it. When the circumstances of life put immeasurable amounts of pressure upon us, the grit of our character has the opportunity to be birthed revealing to us that which we hold most dear.
Father, may I never take for granted the community and village you have given me and the people within it. Sometimes our loyalty will be tested by the ways of the world, but I know that you are greater than any fear I may carry. Thank you for the bond in Christ that ties us, the village of which we belong our home away from home. In Jesus name, amen.
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