On bridges around the world, couples hang a padlock and then throw the key in the river to demonstrate their commitment to each other (I’ve seen this all over Europe). But in our day long-term commitment proves elusive. We move from job to job and even switch careers several times throughout life. Despite the locks, fewer people marry than years ago, and many marriages end sooner than expected. I decide to eat healthy, but the first plate of brownies I come across destroys that notion.
I often wait to commit. I like to keep my options open, thinking something better might come along. Or, I don’t want to lock in to a less than ideal situation. I assess the people I may be working with and decide if I want to give my time and energy to that team.
Ruth committed. A widow, she made an unorthodox decision to follow her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem. A locale Ruth had never seen, these were not her people or her lands or her customs. But she committed to Naomi and promised: Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.
Ruth’s pledge reflects God’s commitment to you and me. If we will have him, God will go where we go and lodge where we lodge. We become his people and he becomes our God.
Ruth’s story ended happily. In a lovely twist, generations later Jesus was born into her line. Good things come when we hang a padlock with the Lord and throw away the key. Like Ruth and Naomi, God blesses our lives if we choose to commit to him.
Ruth 1:16
Photo by Alberto Barrera