True Love–Illustrations in Ruth
Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?” Ruth 3:1
Don’t rock the boat! That is the attitude that many of us have, when after troubled times, things level off and are going smoothly. Why suggest changes which could disrupt and possibly ruin everything? True love, however, does not think that way. True love is willing to sacrifice itself to secure the future of others, and that is exactly what Naomi was willing to do.
The end of harvest had come. Life had taken on a certain rhythm for both Ruth and Naomi. Ruth spent her days gleaning and was doing well, especially in view of Boaz’s generosity. Naomi remained home and had things in good order. Evenings were spent together in quiet harmony. Food stores were no longer tenuous, and their future looked secure and ever so much better than when they first arrived back in Bethlehem. Why, indeed then, rock the boat?
Naomi’s words explain her motivation and loving intentions: “Shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?” Indeed, life had improved, for the LORD was ever faithful and kept His promises to provide for them. But Naomi, in love, wanted more for her daughter-in-law. Yes, it might mean sacrificing her new-found security and the company of the one whom she had come to love more than life itself. Yet, Naomi–moved by true love–wanted Ruth to experience the full blessing of marital life once again and perhaps in the future maternal love.
The same LORD, after all, who established the laws of gleaning to assist the disadvantaged, also established the laws of the kinsman-redeemer to maintain the families of Israel. Through one of them the promised Savior would eventually come. And so, Naomi sat her beloved daughter-in-law down and explained how she was about to suggest an action that might separate them in this life for Ruth’s blessing in order ultimately to unite them before God in the life to come.
Dear heavenly Father, help us all to make the difficult choices necessary in life that sacrifice ourselves to secure present and future blessings for others. Amen.