Leaving the World Behind

​Ruth 1:16 ~ “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 be my people, and your God my God.’”
 
Disaster had struck the family of Naomi. Due to a famine in Israel, she, her husband and two sons departed from their home and settled in the land of Moab. Her husband died, and both her sons married Moabite women. It may have seemed that there was a settled life before her, but then her two sons also died and she was left without heir or support. In her desperate grief, she needed to return to the land of her birth. Naomi sent both her daughters-in-law back to their families and was set to sojourn alone back to Israel. Except, her daughter-in-law, Ruth, was not willing to be parted from her.
 
And this brings us to our text today. Ruth was passionately unwilling to leave Naomi, and her statement draws us into an illustration that reflects upon our departure from this world for the LORD Jesus. Let me ask this: are you passionately unwilling to depart from the LORD? Does not the hardship of following Christ encourage you to return to the comfort of the world and leave Him behind? For this is the situation with Ruth—she was unwilling to return to her former life and her statement must be the echoed desire of all who belong to Christ.
 
First, Ruth pleaded with Naomi to not send her away as she said, “Do not urge me to leave you or return from following you.” What desperation from the heart of Ruth to plead with her mother-in-law, but she loved Naomi and so to depart from her would be a separation that was unbearable. And let that be said of our love for Christ, that to separate from Him is beyond a dread or fear, it would be as if we separated from our own hearts. To lose Christ is to lose life itself. When the crowd of disciples that followed Jesus turned away from him, the LORD asked the twelve if they were going to depart as well (See John, chapter 6). Consider the words of Peter. “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Despite the comfort that would await Ruth back with her own people, she determined to stay with Naomi. And, dear ones, if we are to cling to Christ, we must depart from the comforts of the world.
 
Second, Ruth was determined to follow Naomi, no matter where it may lead. As we read in our text for today, “For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge.” You must understand that the return to Bethlehem was not going to lead into a life of ease and riches. Naomi called herself “Mara” which means “bitter” (see Ruth 1:20). Consider what Ruth was required to do in order to merely keep her and Naomi fed—she had to go after the harvesters and glean from the fields. This was reserved for the impoverished in the land. It was a form of charity to provide for those who could not afford even to purchase grain. And this might be the life we experience, for where Jesus leads is not always upon the streets of ease and comfort. Our LORD even said in Matthew 8:20, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” In essence, Jesus said that to follow Him would be to forsake all—even if it means forsaking comfort.
 
Third, Ruth was willing to identify completely with the one she followed. The final statement is telling as Ruth stated, “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” She was fully set in the faith of the people of God. And, dear Christian, let this be the testimony of our lives as we put our faith in the LORD Jesus. Let it be known that for us the people of God are our people, and the worship of God is our desire. We have no other God, no other Savior, and no other people than those who are of Christ. For some, their faith in the LORD Jesus is merely a sentimental attachment that has no distinctive absolutes to it. Yet for Ruth, there was a clear separation from the world. She left Moab behind, her people and their ways. She embraced the people of God and His authority. Let it be said of us who are born again that there is a clear separation from the world and a true identity that we have in Christ.
 
The complete separation of Ruth from the world must be the mark of our faith in Christ as well. May we be so found in Christ that where He goes, we go. And we know that He has gone into glory. Through hardships and joys, let us follow the LORD Jesus until we arrive there as well.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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