Thursday, February 25: Ruth 1-Actions the substance of our faith

I wonder what it was in Ruth that propelled her to stay with her mother-in-law instead of returning to her own people. Was it her love and trust for Naomi, her mother-in-law? Was it her love and trust in the Lord who had become the God she worshipped? We don’t know. The best we can do is surmise or guess. The text is silent.

I thought about that situation. Without inside information, we cannot know what motivates a person. All we can do is watch their actions and surmise their motivation. Actions are important. Actions are the stuff of faith. Our actions, more than merely our words, are the stuff of our faith.

Ruth’s determination (actions) to remain faithful to both Naomi and the Lord, thunder through the lines of this chapter. The author of this book tells us what Ruth is planning to do. 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 anything but death separates you and me (16-17). But her actions, going with Naomi, who offers no future and where she will be an outcast, proved her metal. Actions are the stuff of faith…

It was at this point that the Lord turned the tables on me. Text moved to life… “Bill, how about your actions? Do you follow through on your words spoken about Me and spoken to Me? Bill, do your actions show that I am your God?”

I think it was Lloyd Olgivie who asked, “If you were put on trial for being a Christ-follower, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” That question drove these thoughts deeper into my soul…

Lord, I adapt Ruth’s promise to Naomi as my pledge and words to You today.  Where You want me to go I will go and where You want me to stay I will stay. And, Lord, I ask that You send the Holy Spirit so that I might have His strength to let these words of mine be more than words, but be lived out by my actions… In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.