where you go, I will go

“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” 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 even death separates you and me.” 
Ruth 1:15-17

Ruth may have been talking to her mother-in-law, but don't her words translate into something beautifully romantic? They remind me of wedding vows. The commitment she makes to Naomi was life-changing. She had the opportunity to return to her family and her homeland and re-marry someone from her own tribe. Instead, she chose to go to Bethlehem with Naomi because she was intrigued by Naomi's faith. Surely she had heard of the God of Israel. Ruth adopted Naomi's faith and converted to Judaism. She re-married in Bethlehem and gave birth to a son, and through her second marriage became a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.

I'm so inspired by Ruth's faith and humble attitude. 

Check out Pastor Paul's sermons on how we can learn about identity through the book of Ruth.