When my family and I went camping a few days ago, my sisters and I were reading and talking inside our tent. While in the midst of our conversation, I decided to read the book of Ruth out loud, and have my sisters act out what they heard. Their interpretive acting skills were nothing less than hilarious!! Meredith chose to be Boaz and Naomi. Caroline decided to assume the roles of Ruth, Orpah, and one of Ruth's close relatives. There were lots of laughs during our performance, and my sisters greatly enjoyed illustrating their different roles :)
This morning, I went back and read certain portions in Ruth that I had previously highlighted. One of the first verses that caught my eye was from chapter three, "And she said to her, 'All that you say to me I will do.'"
Although Ruth is speaking to Naomi here, this small passage made me think of our attitudes toward God and those in authority over us. Speaking for myself, there are not many times when I truly surrender all that I am to God. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of wanting to be in control; it is not easy for me to hand over the reins of my desires to someone else. However, this verse caused me to stop and ponder. I had to ask myself, do I sweetly throw up my hands and commit my ways to God? Do I daily dedicate my actions, thoughts, and motives to Him? What is my attitude when I serve Him? Am I obeying my parents with a joyful heart?
Here, Ruth exhibits a very sweet, submissive, obedient, and respectful demeanour when Naomi asks her to do something. She does not disobey, nor does she talk back. In fact, the Bible does not record her having any ill thoughts! Also, Naomi asked her to do something which was very hard. The request also put her reputation at risk. In verse three and four, Naomi orders Ruth to "...wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself know to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do.'" Naomi asked Ruth to go sleep at the feet of Boaz, even though both her and Boaz were unmarried. However, Ruth did not fight back. She trusted Naomi and obeyed.
As a result of her actions, Boaz called Ruth "blessed of the Lord" and praised her for her kindness. Soon after, the two were married and begot Obed, who was in the line of Jesus. Ruth gleaned incredible reward because of her submissiveness.
We, particularly myself, need to practice being obedient to those who are in authority over us, especially when we don't feel like it. Let us keep our thoughts, motives, and actions pure before the Lord when we obey. Let us take this lesson from Ruth and strive to be submissive to our elders - specifically, our parents.
I challenge you, my readers, every day this week to pray in the morning and dedicate yourself and your lives to the Lord. Ask Him to fill you with an obedient attitude. If you approach this with a willing heart, God will reward you, just as He rewarded Ruth. Please leave a comment sometime this week letting me know how this challenge affected you - that would be a tremendous blessing!!! I will also let you know how I do :)
God bless you, my dear readers!
"...All that you say to me I will do." -Esther 3:5
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