Honoring Your Mother

May 28th, 2017

Ruth 1:1-18

Ruth had just lost everything. She had just uprooted herself to follow her new family to a foreign place to escape a famine. In this foreign place, she lost her father-in-law, brother-in-law, and her husband–before ever having any children. Now at rock bottom, she had every right and reason to leave her now broken family and seek a new start in her native land. Her mother-in-law, Naomi, even encouraged young Ruth to leave so that she could begin to attempt to create a normal life for herself again.

But Ruth replied, “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 anything but death separates you and me.”

Why would Ruth give up the opportunity to restore what had been lost just to stay with her mother-in-law? The answer is simple: Ruth not only had a deep love for Naomi, but also trusted in Naomi’s wisdom. Ruth understood that this woman served a mighty God, and she saw that the value of spiritual guidance far outweighed the comfort of returning home.

We all need a mother’s voice in our life. Even for those of us who may not have our biological mother, we can all still find a motherly figure to take on that role to give us Godly advice and steer us in the right direction. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:2-3 that we should honor our mother so that we may live a long and full life. Naomi was not Ruth’s true mother, but Ruth honored her as if she was. It’s important that we follow the example of Ruth by recognizing, revering, and respecting the woman of God that has been placed in our life. When we do that, our lives are enriched by the wisdom we’re given, and we are opening up an opportunity for the Lord to bless us!

Pray: “God, I ask for You to send me wise counsel through Godly women that You have divinely appointed to help lead me in the right path. Help me to always cherish and esteem their guidance, and put me in check whenever I dishonor their instruction. Let me have the discernment and reverence for a spiritual mother’s leadership like Ruth showed.”