I blog about love frequently, I hope I will always have a fresh perspective on love and never take God's love, my husband's love, my family's love or my friend's love for granted.
I chose Kelly Minter's Loss, Legacy, & Love for the women's Bible Study group which meets at my house on Monday nights. Much to our surprise Beth Moore chose it for the Siesta Summer Study as well. We have so enjoyed the study and been reduced to tears a couple of times too.
Sometimes, I think as Christians we don't think about love being being a central theme in the Old Testament which is highly inaccurate. The Old Testament is filled with stories of love, the following are but a few:
God's love for His people revealed through out through out the Old Testament
Abram's love for Lot
Joseph's love for his father and family
David's love for God
Ruth's love for Naomi
Ruth left her home, her family and set off for Israel with Naomi. They were widowed, she was childless, and a foreigner from Moab of all places going to live in the Promised Land. Ruth loved Naomi so much, she worked hard to support her. I think her love brought healing to Naomi. (That's just my opinion.) I never knew a deep love from my mother-in-law, I loved her very much at one time but the love died slowly but surely over time due to various circumstances. I prayed for God to fill me with His love for her, I think that prayer was answered, but I never "felt" love for her like I did before.
Some of the most famous words in the Bible are found in Ruth, I must use King James for this:
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Ruth totally died to self, she worked hard from sun up to well past sun down, hard physical work and then went home to serve a woman who wanted to be called Mara (Bitter), but Ruth kept loving and finally we see Naomi calling Ruth daughter and asking the Lord to bless Ruth. Do not despair as you serve and pray for a loved one. God hears our prayers and answers them, He sees our tears, He knows the number of tears we shed.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
5 comments:
Oh my Gosh!! You have to hear the vision the Lord gave Frances and I on the way home!! Love this!!
It is such an amazing story. I loved my mother in law very much. But it wasn't till after she died that I realized how much more I could have loved her and honored her. Blessings to you sister.
I've been doing this study by myself Annette, and I just love it. I am learning new things and seeing things I hadn't noticed before.
So good to hear from you !
Annette, thanks for the comment on my blog. Come back and read again. It posted before I was finished writing my thoughts.
I am loving this study! What true romantic could resist this one?!? And I am so trying to see myself in Ruth (as the church) and her faithful obedience to Christ. So rich what this study reveals about redemption, bitterness (can it be righteous bitterness like some anger can be?). And then, there's Boaz. So wise. So seeing the spiritual nature of Ruth and not the flesh nature.
Beautiful study and I hate to see it end.
I enjoyed your thoughts on Ruth. So glad you had a group to do this one with.
What a blessing to read your thoughts. It ministers to me.
Post a Comment