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Loyal to a Fault
Ruth is both a book in the Bible and the name of its main character, but we would have heard of neither if not for her incredible loyalty. Ruth is one of the greatest love stories in history. Movies, novels, and books have been written about this beautiful story, but there would have been no love story had it not been for Ruth’s loyalty. What comes as an even greater shock is that the whole story begins with and is built around the loyalty of a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law.
In her example of loyalty to Naomi, Ruth show us four ways we should manifest loyalty in our lives. Loyalty to our family, our friends, our faithfulness, and our faith.
Because of Ruth’s loyalty in all these areas, God used her to bear a son and also change the history of the world. The son she bore was Obed. He became the grandfather of David, who became the ancestor of Jesus. But that is not all. When you go to the genealogy of Jesus, four women are mentioned in the family tree: Tamar (guilty of incest), Rahab (a prostitute), Bathsheba (an adulteress), and Ruth (a Moabite).
Our God is a loyal God. Our God will never leave us or forsake us. We owe it to him to be loyal to him and his church in worship and service. When we needed a Savior to die for us, Jesus said, “I’ll be there.”
Loyalty demands that we determine daily to be three things.
1. Loyalty demands that we be candid. Loyalty is not blind. Loyalty and honesty are joined at the hip.
2. Loyalty demands that we be consistent. Private loyalty without public loyalty is cowardly hypocrisy.
3. Loyalty demands that we be courageous. Nothing takes more boldness and courage than to be willing to stand by your friends when others have abandoned them—to go against the flow, to refuse to pile on or jump on the bandwagon of criticism and condemnation just because everybody else is.
If we are known as someone whose heart will always say, “I’ll be there” when needed, the kind of person who will walk into a house when the whole world has walked out, we can rest assured we will leave behind a monument of honor that will never be forgotten.
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About this Plan
In a world of social media and cable news outlets, we’re often more concerned with our outer image than our inner make up. You can look good on the outside without being good on the inside. If you long to commit yourself to the content of your character, join James Merritt for a look at five traits that form the bedrock of a godly life and a good society.
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