One of the most ironic things about the story of Ruth is what it has become. In particular Ruth 1: 16-17 has become a popular verse to read at weddings, pledging fidelity and loyalty. But when we take verses like this out of their context, they lose some of their beauty. We forget that Ruth being with her mother-in-law, would be as much of a reminder of tragedy as a sign of comfort. For every time the women saw each other they would be reminded of the lose they had experienced. Why Ruth was pledging to go with Naomi in the first place. And yet. And yet, according to Pastor Dale P. Anders in his homiletics article on this passage of scripture found in Feasting on the Word, "Yet through the relationships the women already begin to break to break the bondage of tragedy. They struggle to give to each other, to act in each other’s best interest."
This isn't necessarily a pledge to be taken at weddings, but if it is, it should remind us that we are to go through life together through the good and the bad - and Ruth and Naomi surely knew about the bad. They knew about life's struggles and hardships that had brought them to this point - the point where they absolutely had to rely on one another.
Who are the people in your life who will walk with you through life's darkest valleys and point you to the shining light of God?
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