RuthSample

A self-sacrificing love

Life is hard for widows in the 21st century. Life was immeasurably harder for widows in the 12th century b.c. There was no social security, survivor’s benefits, Medicare, or Medicaid. In a dog-eat-dog world, Ruth did a remarkable thing—she accepted the obligation to find a way to provide for her older mother-in-law, Naomi. A Moabite now living in Israel, Ruth was an alien and had to find work at the very bottom of the ladder—gleaning scraps of grain at harvesttime. 

The owner of the fields where she toiled, a man from Judah named Boaz, took note of her extraordinary example: “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before” (Ruth 2:11).

It is in the crucible of hardship that character is refined and developed. The Spirit of the Lord led Ruth to make sacrifices on behalf of Naomi, and Naomi brought value to Ruth’s life by teaching her about the Lord. Even in their day-to-day struggle to survive, the Lord was slowly bringing things together for the good of those who loved him. May Ruth be a hero to you in your times of struggle. May her story inspire you to be willing to love and sacrifice and serve and wait for the Lord. 

And may the Lord bless your faithful service as he did Ruth’s.