Family Ties
Ruth 1:15-22
Have you ever made a major change in your life?
So she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die-- there will I be buried. May the Lord do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!" When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, "Is this Naomi?" She said to them, "Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when the Lord has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?" So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. - Ruth 1:15-22
You may think I am talking about Ruth here, but I am not. I am talking about Naomi.
Sure, Ruth made a major change in her life by following Naomi, but Naomi changed her life twice. Once, she chose to leave with her family and go to Moab as a refugee.
Then, when her husband and sons died, she returned, and she was ashamed.
In her eyes, she failed.
In those days, a woman could not support herself. She could make some money working the fields or making clothing for people, but not enough to pay for a place to live and for food. Women were dependent on men. And if your men died, and no family member nearby would take you, you were doomed.
Deflated, demoralized, and feeling abandoned by God, Naomi went back to her people.
What would you do if a distant relative of yours traveled from a far-off land and knocked on your door looking for help?
Even today, there is something special about family ties.
When you find out someone is family, doesn't that change everything? You connect even if you never met this person or have no idea whose child or parent this is. It is in the blood.
My father used to say, "Family First," and he meant it. Even before God comes family, and that's what Naomi is saying when she says her name is now Mara.
I can still find myself in my family if I am no one in God's eyes.
Wow. That's a powerful statement, and it may sound disrespectful of God, but think about it. We are all God's children. We are family.
Now, that changes everything, doesn't it?
More to come...