A short synopsis of Ruth found on biblehub.com:
The book of Ruth is the Narrative of a love story, yet also has some important Genealogy. The timeline of this book is intertwined during the period of the Judges. The author was anonymous but some believe it was perhaps written by Samuel the prophet; however, it is unlikely that he was alive when this book was written. It was written about 1046-1035 B.C. Key personalities include Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz.
Its purpose was to demonstrate the kind of love, and faithfulness that God desires for us. It shows the difference between what happens when a nation does not follow in obedience to the covenant of God (Judges), and when God’s people follow in faithfulness within the covenant (Ruth).
-------The story of Ruth is one that each of us should dwell upon in relation to our own lives-------
Last week we learned about the importance of breaking our Alabaster Box at Jesus feet and this week we will look at the life of a woman (Ruth) who did just that. Therefore, in order to study Ruth's life of reckless abandonment we will look at three areas of her life in relation to her amazing story:
- New Friends
- New Surroundings
- New Faith
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Ruth was a Moabite (a highly pagan people) who had married one of Naomi's sons. However, after the death of her husband Ruth was faced with a decision of where she would turn next! God had worked mightily in Ruth's life so far, so much so that she realized how false her old religion was and came to know the True God as her Lord and Savior. Because of her new found Faith in God she was on fire for following him....even if it meant following Him into the unknown. Upon the death of her husband Ruth's mother in law Naomi begged Ruth and Orpah (her two daughter in laws) to return to their home country in order that they might find new husbands. However, because of Ruth's new found faith and her dedication and love for her Mother in Law Naomi Ruth said :
"Don't urge me to leave you or 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." (Ruth 1:16)
#1- New Friends: Ruth left her home country, all that she knew, and the prospects of a husband behind her as she chose to stay with her mother in law and follow her into the new and unknown. In Ruth's choice to stay with Naomi she left behind her old life and her old friends for the precise purpose of seeking the True God in her new faith.
Ruth knew that staying in Moab would only undermine her growth in God and thus she chose to pick up and move to a place that would be beneficial to her growth, surrounding herself with people who believe in the same God as she did.
Ruth knew that staying in Moab would only undermine her growth in God and thus she chose to pick up and move to a place that would be beneficial to her growth, surrounding herself with people who believe in the same God as she did.
- This is true for us in our own lives!
- How many times have you looked around and realized that your friends were not on the same path as you? That they had chosen a different life with different choices and a different goal?
- It is important for us to look around us and ask ourselves the question: "Are the people I am surrounding myself with causing me to grow closer to God or fall farther away from Him?
"Do not be deceived: 'Bad company corrupts good morals.'" (1 Cor. 15:33)
- When we choose to live a life of deeper commitment to our Heavenly Father we will often face ridicule and questions from those closest to us! Just like in the story of the woman who broke her Alabaster box, the disciples questioned "Why this waste" (Matt. 26:8).
- Realize how much those you surround yourself with in life effect how you live your life! Are they pointing you towards God or pulling you away?
You should surround yourself with friends who do as Hebrews 10:24 encourages:
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds."
#2- New Surroundings: In the story of Ruth, Ruth relocated and moved to a different place in order that she could freely grow spiritually!
- Many young women choose to relocate themselves to different jobs, different social circles, and even different churches all for the sake of being "spiritually fed" instead of always coming up "hungry."
- How about you in your life? Are you in a place in which you are being fed spiritually or do you still find that you hunger for more?
- It might take a leap of faith and you might be faced with judgement from others but always be open to change that is beneficial for your spiritual growth.
----Like Ruth choose to be in a place that stimulates your growth in God instead of hindering it----
The sad truth is that Young women who choose to follow a path and change in order that they can grow spiritually are persecuted (persay) not only by non-Christians who do not understand the reasoning for their decisions, but they are also persecuted by their own kind....Christians!
"Unfortunately, our self-centered culture in the United States [and throughout the world] has penetrated the Church so much that a young woman not only has to choose against the American culture, but sometimes against the more subtle, worldly Christian subculture tainting the Body of Christ (NLIW)."
----Ruth had to Forsake the Familiar and comfortable in order to receive God's best for her life----
It is important for us never to forget that "part of reckless abandonment is realizing how much our culture has affected out behavior patterns (p.25)." You want to be filled with Christ but your life is a reflection of those very people around you who do not follow God but follow the world. Where has the dividing line between those of the world and those of God????? It has vanished!!!! Let us put it back in place!
#3 - New Faith: "Ruth moved from a false religion into the only true and eternal relationship (NLIW)." So many young women of today's society are involved in worship but are at a stand still in their growth with God. Is your Faith alive and growing or is it a lifeless monotonous tradition you participate in on Sundays?
- Instead of seeing your faith as a "lifeless ritual" why not re-evaluate your faith in these free years as a single lady and take the time to really focus on your Heavenly Father and allow your faith to grow to unseen heights!
- Let us choose right now to put mediocrity aside, refocus our life of faith and FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS!!!
In the book The New Lady In Waiting one woman described her desired relationship with Jesus to be something like this:
"I desire that my relationship with the Lord be an adventure. One where I would find out what pleased Him and then do it, devoting as much energy to Jesus as I would in a relationship with a boyfriend. I am falling more in live with Jesus every day (p.26)."
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???WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE???
Will you choose to follow Ruth's example and step upon the path of "Reckless Abandonment" or will you choose mediocrity and fade into those of the world? Sometimes it takes us making the hard decisions in order that we might receive God's best for our lives. We will most certainly face trials, judgement, uncertainty, and persecution but the bumps in the road are worth the ETERNAL PRIZE!
Our world is falling apart. Not only are the people of the world broken and blind, but in today's society so many Christians have been blinded and brainwashed by what the world has to say and do not wish to forsake the pleasures of the flesh to feed the spirit!
A.W. Tozer profoundly states:
"A whole new generation of Christians has come up believing that it is possible to 'accept' Christ without forsaking the world."
God calls us to be "set apart" and to "forsake the world" but we have become a people who do the opposite. A people who are so selfish and focused on our own wants and desires that we disregard all that God wants for us in our lives. Where have the followers of God gone???
Are you one of the Christians who has decided that they can follow God without forsaking the world? If so stop right now and re-evaluate your life!!! You deserve more than what the world has to offer and God deserves more than what you are offering Him.
Take up your Alabaster Box and break it at His feet! Say NO to the world and the sinful desires of the flesh! Take your life of new found Reckless Abandonment and follow in the footsteps of Ruth, in her life of Faith and Surrender to the One True God!!!
Through Ruth's Faith in God and her abandonment to His will and His plan she was blessed beyond comprehension. If you have read the story of Ruth you know that she married Boaz. Through her obedience to God and her marriage to her kinsman redeemer Ruth was part of the family line of Jesus! How AMAZING is that!! Just goes to show how one big or small act of obedience to God and Reckless Abandonment to His will and plan for your life can pour upon you blessings unimaginable.
Through Ruth's Faith in God and her abandonment to His will and His plan she was blessed beyond comprehension. If you have read the story of Ruth you know that she married Boaz. Through her obedience to God and her marriage to her kinsman redeemer Ruth was part of the family line of Jesus! How AMAZING is that!! Just goes to show how one big or small act of obedience to God and Reckless Abandonment to His will and plan for your life can pour upon you blessings unimaginable.
This is your time !!!
Now is your Call to Action !!!
Let us not be young women who shrink under the pressures of society but young women that rise above the clouds of smoke on the battlefield and come out victorious in Christ!
This is your time to change the world.....
STAND UP
STANDOUT
BE DIFFERENT
Have you ever experienced a time in your life when you were faced with choices, a difficult path, or an unknown future? I can't imagine any one of you who has not been faced with challenges such as these...challenges that make us stop and re-asses our life, wondering where God is and are we really strong enough to let go and trust Him with "everything"?
The truth is, that its hard! It is hard to let go because we know that when we let go it is out of our control and we no longer have access to manipulate and handle it ourselves. However, as much as we want "control" over our lives, our lives are not our own, and belong to one who is much greater than us weak human specimen. Our lives are meant to be offered up to God, for he calls us to "offer your bodies as living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1). We were precisely put here on this globe and given challenges and a future all so that we can give them to God, offering them up as a sacrifice! Elizabeth Elliot so clearly states that "There is no ongoing spiritual life without the process of letting go. At the precise point where we refuse, growth stops (Passion and Purity)."
Therefore, before we even take another step forward in our lives we must stop for a moment and asses what our lives and future are in the eyes of God! Are they things we have freely offered up to Him, or are we tightly clutching onto them, wanting to stay in control? This is the start to an amazing journey, but in order to start out on the right foot, we must first start by learning what it is to live a life of Reckless Abandonment to our Heavenly Father...coming before Him and breaking our "Alabaster Box" at His feet!
What is the "Alabaster Box"? The box is exactly what it sounds like, it is an ornate box made out of Alabaster and usually held as contents expensive and significant perfume (known as Nard). Back in the days when Jesus was on the earth, the box was essentially a young woman's dowry. Depending on how wealthy her family was, her Alabaster box and perfume within would signify her standing in life. Now, a dowry is something a young woman has which she offers up to a man when he makes her an offer of marriage. Thus, when the time was right and she had found a man, she would take the box and break it at his feet, signifying that she was giving her life and or future over to him.
Now, before you get bored from the history lesson just keep on reading because what you read next is so cool!! So.......how does the Alabaster box fit into living a life of Reckless Abandonment? Lets look at a story from the Bible to see what God has in store:
John 14: 3-9 (A Woman Anoints Jesus With Perfume)
"While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
(Matthew 26:6-13; Luke 12:1-11)
I am sure most of you are familiar with this story as was I when I first started this topic, but it is going to get even more amazing! Most scholars believe that the woman in this story (also known as Mary) was Mary the sister of Lazarus. However, there have also been some speculations that she was the woman who had been caught in adultery in John 8:1-10 (a woman who was a sinner, Like 7:37) and if that were indeed the case then the act of breaking her box is even more significant as it symbolized that she was leaving her life of sin to follow Jesus.....breaking her Alabaster Box at His feet. However, why was the act of breaking an expensive box full of sacred perfume so special? The box was a young woman's dowry and thus significantly held all her dreams as that box was her future. Yet, this woman chose to break the box at her Heavenly Bridegroom's feet, giving him her life and her future! Jackie Kendall, author of The New Lady In Waiting states that "Yes, she was a sinner, but this sinner had dreams and wisely broke her alabaster box in the presence of the only One who can make a woman's dreams come true (p.21)."
Therefore, the question now is this...."What is in your Alabaster Box (p.21)." Is it full of dreams for the futures such as your schooling, career, or probably for all of us who we will marry! I know that is what my box was full of and trust me when I say holding onto your box is so much harder than breaking it at Jesus feet! Do you want to live a life of free and total surrender and abandonment go God? Do you want Him to be the keeper and writer of your future story? It isn't easy at first but trust me that God is enough and worthy of our trust in His plans!!
STOP what you are doing right now, pick up your box and break it at Jesus feet....he is worthy of such an act and honor. When you tightly clutch your box you feel uncertain and hold onto the "what ifs" of life, but when you break your box full of all your hopes and dreams at Jesus feet (the one who planted those hopes and dreams in your heart) you have the confidant assurance that whatever is God's will, will happen in his time (including finding your earthly bridegroom).
However, you might be wondering "how do I know when I have broken my box at Jesus feet?" Well, you know you have broken your box when your decisions and life reflect in your heart. How do you respond when things don't go your way (but God's way)? How do you respond when you see everyone around you with a boyfriend or everyone is getting engaged and married? Does your attitude reflect that of resentment towards God or are you confident God has your future in His hands! When we are faced with trying situations, our response should be that of Mary, who when the angel came before her and told of all that would happen she confidently responded "I belong to the Lord, body and soul...let it happen as you say(Luke 1:38)."
We have no power over what happens on this earth and even what happens in our own lives for that matter, so instead of trying to control our future, choose to instead surrender your "body, soul, and dreams,...entrust[ing] them to Jesus" who in him can make all your dreams come true!Choose right now to take the stand and life a life of Reckless Abandonment (NLIW, p. 22)! It will not be easy, but "with God all things are possible."
Have you Broken you box?
Are you living a life of Reckless Abandonment?
This post today was partially inspired by Chapter 1 in the book The New Lady In Waiting by Jackie Kendall.
Next Week: The Story of Ruth....Examples From a Life of Reckless Abandonment.
Have you ever been just so passionate about "something"......and wish you could just do something about? That you could just go out into the world and start talking to people about it, write books about it, write blogs about it, and give lectures about it and just tell everyone and make them aware?.....but then you realize you have to watch yourself because you might just start spewing lectures out at them that will probably sound like you are being "all judgmental" but that's not really the case! You are not seeking to be judgemental you are just sooooooooooooooooo passionate about so many things. When you feel this inner passion deep inside you know that God is directing you some way on a different path to use that passion He has enstilled inside.
Living life in this world is HARD!!!! I mean HARD!!! We are surrounded by a constant bombardment of pressures and when we don't live a life of confident and reckless abandonment to God we will never have the power to STAND UP to the world STANDOUT and not be afraid to BE DIFFERENT!
God calls us to be set apart and "not to conform" to the world. In the society of the 21st century this is quickly slipping away onto the back burner and is no longer the "norm." Everywhere we look we are faced with teens sliding down the slippery slope into the crowd of conformity. Girls are in a battle every day! When we try to stand up for what we believe people question us and ask "Why?" and then we start to second guess ourselves looking around to see that we are the only ones living a different lifestyle than those around us. When we start to second guess ourselves, we wonder why we even live the way we do and is it even worth it? Is it worth being judged, being thought weird, and being different???? YES!!! It is TOTALLY worth it.....trust me!!!
I am just an ordinary girl like you and have gone through my fair share of battles. I know what you face because I face it every day and I know how hard it is to stand strong when you don't have people to support you! That is what Standout Girl is all about! Standout Girl is here for girls just like me who have chosen to walk to the right --> when everyone else is walking to the left <--. We have chosen to live a life set apart and STANDOUT confidently in our faith, our view of relationships, our choices in life, and how we support one another.
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