Ruth chapter 1. Life is Short.
A beautiful family develops with a father, mother, two sons and two daughter-in-laws. In a relatively short period of time all three husbands die.
This chapter reminds me that life is short. We are but a breath, Psalm 39:6. We never know when our time on Earth will end. No one will live forever. I hate to say this, but my life could end today. I'm not guaranteed forever life on Earth. Same with my wife and two daughters and grandchildren and son in laws. There's no guarantee for tomorrow. We must see this life as our temporary stop before eternity…eternity in heaven because of our life with Christ, or eternity in hell because of our rejection of Christ with our life.
If life is short, then what are we doing on Earth to prepare for eternity? Are we committed to Christ? Are we committed to our family? Are we committed to the Body of Christ, the church, or are we just putting in our time? Are we committed to serve the Lord by serving others?
When we lose a life of a loved one, we will go through a grief period.
- Our grief can motivate us to be angry, bitter, hateful and put a division in our relationship with the Lord. Or
- Our grief can be a reminder of how temporary life is and motivate us to love and serve the Lord and others all the more, thus building our relationship with Him and others.
There’s a sobering reminder for us today. We don’t know how much time that we have on this earth so we need to make each day count. Pastor Blair pointed this out from Psalm 39:4-7.
“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, You have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before You. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather! “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.”
We read this in Proverbs 27:1. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
Naomi probably had no idea that she would lose her husband and both of her sons in such a short period of time. How devastating that must have been! Ruth chose to stick with Naomi no matter what and Ruth wanted to do what was right. Although Ruth was a foreigner, God blessed her and even put her in the family line of Jesus. Back in Judges we were just reading about how the Israelites were fighting against the Moabites. Ruth is another example of redemption with how God can do incredible things to turn around situations that may seem hopeless to us.
May our hope be in the Lord as He helps us to face whatever may come our way in this life.
Today’s ApologetiX song is Naomi Gonna Be With Ruth, a parody of Only Wanna Be With You.
https://youtu.be/3jmmtj1Jn88
The book of Ruth takes place during the time of the judges when every man did what was right in his own eyes. Knowing that, gives me hope because no matter how badly Naomi may have felt living in sin-filled Moab after the loss of her husband and two sons, her life must have reflected God’s love in a way that impressed Ruth. Verse 16 reinforces this when Ruth says your God will be my God. This story of redemption, revival and restoration never fails to encourage me no matter how many times I read it. No matter how discouraging or antagonistic the world may seem, there are always people who follow God. God is at work in this world and He wants to use each one of us! Be encouraged!