Open to New Life

Scripture – Ruth 1:15-18: ¹⁵“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” ¹⁶But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. ¹⁷Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” ¹⁸When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Observation – (Write down what you see in the scripture.) One more time, Naomi tries to get Ruth to go back. But Ruth responds with this eloquent statement of commitment and love. Whatever she saw in Naomi, she wanted and needed for herself. She’s ready to join Naomi in a new life altogether. This is not unlike the commitment to follow Christ. He leads us always into new experiences of life. We become part of a new people – the church. He often leads us to new places. He will always be our Lord. So Naomi stopped urging Ruth to leave. I wonder what will happen next.

Application – (Write how you will be different today because of what you have just read.) I will keep myself open to the new thing Christ has for me. I tend to close myself to His Spirit. Many times I come to a meeting of the church with a closed mind. My primary agenda item is to get through as quickly as possible. I will open myself to whatever Christ may have.

Prayer – (Write out a brief prayer.) Lord, that’s my confession, as well as my prayer. I never know when Pentecost may be revisited. Keep me open and ready as I keep following you – even in church meetings.

An Invitation – If you’re interested in a face to face discussion about what we’ve been discovering in the Mini-Journal, a small group will be meeting tomorrow morning, 9:45 – 10:30am, at the Southgate Fun and Fitness Center (on Northline near I-75). Look for them around one of the tables in the Café area.

Reading for Sunday, October 14, 2007:

Scripture – Ruth 1:19-22: ¹⁹So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” ²⁰“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” ²²So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.