But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
– Ruth 1:16 (ESV)
Wedding vows are a powerful thing, and they can also be a hard thing. If marriage was easy, we wouldn’t need vows. Since time immemorial, happy couples have stood before witnesses, clergy, and God and promised to love, honor, and remain faithful. For richer and for poorer. In sickness and in health.
These vows are not to be taken lightly, and in fact, they can seem very burdensome as the years pass. What happens when the spouse who you thought could provide for you cannot? What if you are burdened with a spouse who has a chronic illness? The list of what-if‘s is long, but the bottom line is that these vows are some of the most important and challenging ones you will ever make.
Ruth of Moab perhaps didn’t make these exact vows when she married into a Hebrew family. We don’t know what sort of ceremony she and her husband had, what she thought of the Hebrew faith at that time, or what she as a young bride must have experienced or felt.
But we see her understanding of marriage vows after her husband dies and she stays by the side of her widowed mother-in-law to care for her. She chooses to follow this mother-in-law back to her homeland and to adopt the worship of the Hebrew God.
The book of Ruth is the poignant and beautiful recounting of these events and their outcome. Ruth is greatly blessed for her faithfulness and obedience, and ultimately this outsider becomes part of the lineage of Jesus, foreshadowing New Testament ministry and outreach to the Gentiles.
Like Ruth, we will face challenges related to our marriages. In fact, many of us will be called upon to move far away from what we considered home, just as she did. Marriage may mean hours in the hospital, expenses that we don’t know how we will meet, and endless rounds of forgiveness. It will surely mean difficult decisions.
In the end, Ruth’s story is one of faith, personal sacrifice, and deep human fulfillment. Our fallen nature wants to take the easy route or find a quick escape when things get difficult. However, the greatest rewards in life are worth the sacrifices and steadfastness required to achieve them. Ruth maintained hope through tragedy, but her story is ultimately not a tragic one. Such is the hope that believers can cling to.
Marriage certainly has its challenges in this fallen world. We can take inspiration from the example of Ruth who faced her challenges with bravery and faithfulness. God honored her heart and her actions, as surely as he will honor yours if you act in good faith when faced with the challenges that life will certainly bring your way.