Love is a wonderful motivating force, and when combined with faithfulness becomes more generating for amazing actions of self-denial. In the Old Testament book of Ruth is recounted, such a story. Naomi had gone with her husband and two sons, to the land of Moab to escape famine conditions in Israel. Things had for a while gone well, and her two sons married, but later, both her husband and her two sons died. Apparently Naomi got to thinking, ‘what was the point of staying in this foreign land, when all of her immediate family had died, and the famine conditions in her home country, had stopped’. She was not prepared for how much love the two daughter-in-law’s had for her when she determined to return to Israel. Orpah and Ruth turned up planning to travel with their mother-in-law to Israel. Naomi believing they should be with family and have marriage prospects, and managed to persuade Orpah to go back to her own family, but her other daughter-in-law, clung to Naomi, Ruth 1: 16, 17 “But Ruth said: ‘Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where ever you die, I will die, and there will I be buried, the Lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”
Despite the grief and despair Naomi felt about God and her bereft life, she herself and her way of life, must have been attractive enough to motivate Ruth to give up all that was familiar and follow her. This also meant, she chose the Almighty God of Naomi as her own. She was rewarded by God, for she married an important kinsman of her dead husband and had a baby boy by him, and the baby was in the ancestry of David and Jesus as well. Matthew 1: 5, 6 “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king and then V 16 “And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.”
There are many examples of people following Jesus when He was on earth and others when Jesus asked His disciples to forsake family and their occupations, and follow Him. The newly called disciples gladly left all, for a hard life of self-denial. Jesus was the ultimate example of hardship and self-denial within His life dedicated to teaching, helping and healing people. As Ruth is an example of someone who left her family and friends, and way of national worship, without expectations of reward or honour. Her actions were rewarded by God; as are the actions of all those who choose to put all else aside and in self-denial follow Jesus. There are many immediate emotional and spiritual pluses from loving and following Jesus and there are promises of the later reward of eternal life in heaven. John 8: 12 “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” Matthew 10: 28”So Jesus said to them, ‘Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.’ Generally we have a keen anticipation about any promised reward. Therefore I wonder why most people are not really keenly anticipating Jesus coming to earth again, bringing with Him, His reward of eternal life for the righteous?
The Psalms are so good to read for their many aspects on God and life, and never more so, for the joyous words of praise to their/our God and Creator. Psalm 96: 1-3 “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim the good news of His salivation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.” The reason given for our need for joy ant song toward God is apparent, when it is recognized and remembered that the Israelite people had personally experienced real measurable prayer answers and divine interventions on grand scale. The worshipers of man made object gods had no such experiences or stories to remember or celebrate with peons of praise. It is a shame that so many Israelite’s forgot Almighty God and went after man made object gods. These same temptations are constantly before each of us today, and many times we follow the example of the Israelite people and are no longer true to God.
Let us instead join the Psalmist in praises for what He has done and is, Psalm 96: 4-6 “For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods; for all the gods of the peoples are idols, but God made the heavens. Honour and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His Sanctuary.” Verse 13”For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with His truth.