LogosWalk Word Journal
Hearing God Speak through His Word

"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word
in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance."
-- Luke 8:15 (NASB)

« Judges 21:25 • But Ma, Everyone’s Doing It
Ruth 1:15-17 • Not “Me”, But “You” »

Ruth 1:12-14 • To Cling or Let Go

Posted Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at 12:12 am

“‘Return, my daughters! Go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I said I have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight and also bear sons, would you therefore wait until they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.’ And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.”
    —Ruth 1:12-14 (NASB)

The proof of faithfulness comes not in times of peace and prosperity but hardship and testing. It’s easy to remain faithful during the good times, but more of a direct challenge to one’s strength of character when everything seems to be going wrong. Naomi trained her daughters-in-law the best that she could, putting their needs before her own, and in their choices was revealed the true depth of each one’s faithfulness. There is affection displayed in the course of Orpah’s departure, but the greater strength of love in Ruth’s clinging to Naomi, refusing to be parted. Only Ruth was truly faithful.

“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
    —Matthew 13:20-21 (NASB)

There are those that preach a gospel enticing people to a better life. They promise that the conditions of this life will morph into physical blessings and good times if they embrace their teaching. The true Gospel embraced by true followers provides for eternal security regardless of the temporary hardship of present circumstances. It calls for faith in Christ in spite of the appearances, which serves as the root from which faithfulness grows into something at work at levels beyond just creature comforts.

The test of our faith is the degree to which we cling to and embrace Christ to the exclusion of all others rather than seek to satiate our own desires. This can be measured by those things to which we cling the most, whether they’re of His kingdom or this world.†††

[Email this Journal Entry] [Email this Journal Entry] [Print this Journal Entry] [Print this Journal Entry]

This journal entry is filed under 08: Ruth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.


Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by Permission. All other content, materials, etc. are Copyright © 2003—© 2011 by Walk with the Word and/or LogosWalk. Permission for personal and/or not-for-profit use freely granted, commercial use strictly prohibited. Any questions or comments concerning LogosWalk or Walk with the Word should be directed to Servant@LogosWalk.com

LogosWalk Word Journal is proudly powered by WordPress
Entries (RSS) and Comments (RSS).

[LogosWalk] [Walk with the Word]