Jan van Scorel, Ruth and Naomi in the fields of Boaz. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

But Ruth said, ‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. – Ruth 1:16

The Old Testament Book of Ruth is an interesting read. Like a lot of OT texts, it would be fascinating to know what was actually going through the mind of the author and why it was included in the canon. All that we can really do, however, is look at it through the lens of our own time and place and allow whatever message speaks to us from it to come through.

Whatever else it might be, it is surely a story of love and devotion that expresses itself beyond all logic. By all of the laws and customs of the time, Ruth’s determination to stay with Naomi was foolish at best, and at worst potentially fatal.

And yet she perseveres.

Can we, today, find a person, or a cause, or a faith, that we’re willing to give ourselves to in the same way?