Selfless love. Thankful to God. Humble service. Sharing your faith. These are all aspects of godly character. This blog series examines what Scripture tells us about four godly women—and shares encouragement for Christian mothers today. While the encouragement found in these blog posts is aimed specifically at mothers, there are applicable truths for all Christians as well.
The young widow didn’t owe her mother-in-law anything.
By all rights, she should have stayed where she was: in her homeland where she wouldn’t be treated as a poor, destitute foreigner; where she would’ve had a better chance of remarrying, having a family, and moving on with her life.
No one would have blamed her if she had done that. It’s what her sister-in-law did. It’s even what her mother-in-law urged the young widow to do.
But she didn’t.
“Don’t urge me to leave you or to 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. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me” (Ruth 1:16-17).
And with that, the young widow left her homeland and lived with her mother-in-law in a land that was not her own. From a worldly standpoint, Ruth the Moabitess gave up everything to go to Israel, to Bethlehem, with her mother-in-law, Naomi. She left her family, her friends, her former way of life—she left everything behind.
That sacrifice, that selfless love astounds me. She had no idea what would happen to her! And yet we see how God blessed Ruth (and us through her) in the rest of her story from Scripture. Ruth had an incredible love for her mother-in-law, yes, but she also had an amazing love for her God.
Who was it that first told Ruth about the Lord? Perhaps Ruth’s husband, one of Naomi’s sons? Or maybe Elimelech, Naomi’s husband? Could it have been Naomi herself?
At the end of the day, we don’t know. Scripture doesn’t tell us. But it’s clear from Ruth’s account that she knew the Lord—she knew his faithful love, and that changed everything for her. His love influenced her own, and it was reflected throughout the pages of Ruth’s life.
Yes, from a worldly standpoint, Ruth gave up a lot. But she gained so much more! Even so, fears and uncertainties about the future might have plagued her mind as she left everything behind. But by God’s grace, she knew the amazing truth reflected in what her great-grandson would later pen:
“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made” (Psalm 145:8-9).
The Lord is gracious and compassionate. Nowhere is that more clearly seen than in what he did to save us from our sins. By God’s grace, we’ve been set free through Christ’s acts of selfless love. His love changes our perspective. His love changes our hearts. His love changes our very lives. His love influences and motivates the love we show to others as well.
Dear Christian mother, what’s the encouragement here?
Build the foundation of everything you do on Christ and his love for you. Live each day rooted in his Word and be filled with peace and joy in knowing that you are God’s dearly loved child, all because of Jesus. Then by his grace, reflect Christ’s love to your loved ones because selfless love comes from him.
Looking for further encouragement, Mom? Moments in the Word for Moms is a collection of short devotions written specifically for you and offers reminders of Christ’s love and sacrifice to encourage you as your children learn and grow.
Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.