In the previous sermon of this series, Pastor Jason talked about adopting this battle for our generation as our own and using the gifts God has given you for His kingdom. Basically, he wanted us to be constantly leaving a legacy in the name of Christ. This week, the focus shifts ever so slightly. Instead of just telling us to leave a legacy, Pastor Jason addresses how to leave a legacy. He urges us to become part of legacy that's greater than ourselves - namely the legacy of Jesus Christ - so we are no longer trying to leave a legacy for ourselves but for something greater than ourselves. This legacy is two thousand years strong and is the greatest legacy in the history of the human race - no matter from what perspective you look at it.
Pastor Jason asserts that when you follow a world-changer, you become a world-changer. By that logic, if you follow Christ, you will become more like Christ- something Jesus asks us all to do.
The last sermon focused on the story of Esther. This time, we examine the story of Ruth. Ruth 1:11-17 states:
But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has turned against me!”
At this they wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung to her.
“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. Were 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.” (NIV)First, a little background on the passage. Naomi, her husband, and her two sons, in order to escape famine, moved to Moab. While there, Naomi's two sons married two Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. Tragically, while they're in Moab, Naomi's husband and her two sons die, leaving Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah as widows. Now, in that culture, when a woman marries, she "marries the family" so to speak. On paper, the customs and even gods - or in this case God - of the family becomes her own. When Ruth and Orpah's husbands die, however, they are no longer bound by this.
Deciding to return home to Bethlehem, Naomi tells Ruth and Orpah to return to their homes and to their gods. She has no more sons for them to marry, so they are no longer bound to her or her God. Orpah does just that; she returns home. Ruth, on the other hand, "clings" to Naomi - the passage says. Ruth tells Naomi, "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God."
Pastor Jason counts this as the defining moment for Ruth. Because she was married to a Jewish man, she followed Yahweh - God. But that was only on paper. Pastor Jason doubts she genuinely worshiped Yahweh. This is similar, he points out, to many Christian youths. They are Christian only by the virtue that their parents are and, therefore, drag them to church. They don't actually follow Jesus - most don't know what that even entails - and their actions certainly don't speak to a Christian lifestyle. However, there is a defining moment in all these youths lives much like the one faced by Ruth. Generally, this time comes when they go off to college and no longer have their parents making sure they go to church and such. It is during this time, they must decided whether they are going to adopt this religion as their own.
That's exactly what Ruth did. While Orpah went back to her gods, her old lifestyle, Ruth said to Naomi, "Your people will be my people and your God my God." It is in this moment that Ruth adopts Yahweh as her own God. This decision had impacts on Ruth's life that she could never have imagined. Naomi makes it very clear she had nothing to offer the young women. There is no certainty in Naomi's future; in fact, a widow's life was very hard in this society where women were very dependent on the males in their life. Still, Ruth chose to stay with Naomi. Because of this decision, Ruth meets Boaz, who "happens" to be a kinsman-redeemer of hers - the bottom line being he secures the land owned by Naomi's husband and marries Ruth so the two women now have support. However, even more incredibly, Ruth gives birth to Obed; from Obed comes Jesse; from Jesse comes David. Jesus is from the lineage of David. Because Ruth chose to cling to Naomi instead of going back to what was comfortable in her own town, she became a part of the greatest legacy known to humankind.
Ruth became part of the legacy of Jesus, and she wasn't even a Jew. Pastor Jason points this out to emphasize the point that God tends to use people that destroy most people's social preconceptions. In fact, there are only two other women that are noted in the lineage of Jesus - both of them were prostitutes. God tends to use the people who have been kicked to the curb and get back up.
Pastor Jason emphasized a particular point in this story. Both Orpah and Ruth are in a lot of pain when this whole event goes on. They each just lost their husband, their father-in-law, and their brother-in-law. The way our generation deals with pain - which may not be unique to our generation, but a fact nonetheless - is to cause more pain. Teens and young adults are cutting and committing - or try to commit - suicide as ways to escape the emotional pain they feel. Nothing hurts worse that emotional pain, so physical pain seems to be the only remedy. It's familiar - you know what to expect from physical pain; it distracts from the emotional pain. Not knowing how to fix their pain, many people try to the only way they can think of.
At this point, both these young women are in a lot of pain. Let's look at Orpah's decision. Orpah decides to go back to her own town. She returns to what's familiar. Sometimes, it seems like a better idea to go back to what is familiar. People will turn back to old addictions, abusive relationships, and other harmful things because they know what to expect from that. Going forward, changing lifestyles is unfamiliar. They may even feel abandoned by God, and fall into the "Where was your God, when I was hurting" mentality. But if they go back to those old habits, those old situations, at least they know what to expect.
On the other hand, Ruth "clings" to Naomi. It says in the passage, "but Ruth clung to her." This decision changes her life forever. Ruth refused to go back; she knew she had to keep going forward. There was no promise of a better life if she went forward, but she "clung" to Naomi nonetheless. Pastor Jason asserts that everyone needs a Naomi - someone to disciple you, to guide you. Additionally, when you face pain, make it make you "cling" to God. Trying to solve it for yourself will not work. You need to come to that place where you say, "You are God; I am man. I'm helpless without you." When you reach that place, where you can live completely and wholeheartedly for God, is when you join the legacy of Christ.
There are many Christians that pretend like they have it all together on their own. In reality, no one has it all together. Everyone needs God. That's okay. Cling to Him. Because when you do that, you will become a part of Jesus' legacy. When you're a part of the legacy of Christ, you can't help but leave a legacy yourself.
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