Ruth’s loyalty and generosity
Read Ruth 1:16 NIV
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.
Read Ruth 2:11-12 NIV
Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
In the time this story took place, it was customary for widows to return to their homelands after the death of a husband to be cared for by their own people. But when Naomi’s husband and two adult sons all died within a short period of time, her daughter-in-law Ruth refused to leave Naomi to suffer alone.
You can show kindness by being present in someone’s life. Simply greeting someone on Sunday morning as you head into church lets people know they are cared about. That is how I started serving at Cross Creek. Someone saw my heart to make others feel welcome and I became a greeter on Sunday mornings.
Another way in which I personally have been called is to support others through prayer. The prayer ministry is a team which is dedicated to helping others connect with the Lord through conversation and developing a relationship. Perhaps you too have a heart for prayer and fellowship that longs to be shared with someone.
Note: this devotional was inspired by National Christian Foundation: 10 examples of generosity in the Bible and how to follow them.
