June 15, 2008

Ruth: The Way Life Ought to be Lived

Everlasting God

Ruth 1:19-22

Opening Words: It has become my custom to take the summer months and preach on a single Old Testament personality. I do this for two main reasons. First, our tradition believes in the witness of both the Old and New Testament. The problem is our church is out of balance. The New Testament dominates and the Old Testament stands as a silent partner. There is something wrong about this partnership. The Old Testament is important to our discipleship because it holds divine truth for holy living. Second, we live in Biblically illiterate times. That is painfully obvious. In our time, many struggle to remember the simplest Bible stories and verses. Simply telling these Old Testament stories is important because it gives you the opportunity to reconnect with them. Over the past few years we have examined the lives of Nehemiah, Esther, Elijah and Joseph. This summer we will look at the life of Ruth. She lived her life in the way we ought to live ours. Let me call this morning’s message Everlasting God.

Ruth 1:19-22 ¹⁹ So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?"

²⁰ "Don't call me Naomi, " she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. ²¹ I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

²² So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.

After church I leave for Lakeside and Annual Conference. On Tuesday I will be appointed to serve this appointment for my fifteenth year. Russ Libb at Berlin Center will be appointed for his thirty-sixth year. He is an interesting character. I enjoy Russ for many reasons, one is his effectiveness in his church. His church is one of the healthiest churches I know. I asked him how he did it. He said long term pastoral leadership. He said, “If my Mommy would have brought home a different Daddy every four or five years I might be messed up too!” His church has benefited from his constant care and guidance. We have benefited more than we will ever know from God’s constant care and guidance. Our lives can change in a million different ways but God remains the same. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Do you remember Ruth’s story? It all began in a sea of despair. A great famine had come to the land of Judah. God’s Chosen people were facing some hard times. More specifically, Naomi and her husband were facing some hard times. They were forced to make a difficult choice because their options were limited. They decided to move to Moab to escape the famine. Geographically speaking the move was not great. It was only fifty miles away but to Naomi, Moab seemed like a different planet.

It is while they are in this foreign place that Naomi’s life falls apart. It began with the death of her husband, Elimelech. The implosion continued with the death of her sons, Mahlon and Kilion. The only thing she has left is her two Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. The story began in the middle of a sea of despair but it moved to a mountain of regret. Naomi regretted moving to Moab so she decides to move back home to Bethlehem. The famine had passed. The only thing holding her back is her two Moabite daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth. Last week the text told us Naomi tried to sever her relationship with them. The problem is that their lives have become intertwined. They have grown to both respect and love Naomi. Orpah reluctantly returns to her family but Ruth decides to stay with Naomi. Not only does she decide to stay with Naomi but she decides to adopt her entire lifestyle. Together, Naomi and Ruth travel to Bethlehem and hope for a better life. How much of that story do you remember?

This weekend’s scripture continues the story. It is really nothing more than a great reunion. After years of absence, Naomi has returned home. Like I said previously it was only fifty miles between Maob and Bethlehem but it could have been a million. There is no snail mail, email or text messaging. Naomi may have only been fifty miles away but there has been no communication between her and home. When she arrives the whole town is abuzz. The years have not been kind. She is the picture of change. Verse nineteen says the women ask, “Can this be Naomi?” You can take that question three ways. Some were surprised she had returned. Some were surprised she was alive. Others were surprised how much she had changed. Hardship can age you beyond your years.

Naomi wants to tell them about her years in Moab so she responds in a way that was appropriate to her time. (However, her response is strange to our time.) She announces to them her new name. Verse 20 says, “Don't call me Naomi, call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter.” The renaming of self does not make sense to us, but to Naomi’s world it made perfect sense. In the Old Testament, names means so much more. They are not just used to identify someone. If you know someone’s name you knew something about their very presence. Naomi means El Shaddai or “the Almighty.” Mara means “bitter yet trusting in God.” Her life had changed in her absence. Many of the changes were negative but the hardships of her life have not shaken her faith. She has been emptied, knowing she will be refilled later. She understands the divine truth that I have leaned on lately. The world is always changing. Some of the changes are good. Some of the changes are bad. All of the changes are hard. Someone once said, “The only one who likes change is a wet baby. The only constant in our life is God. He is the same yesterday, today and always. Change is a part of life.

Last Sunday afternoon Anna graduated from Canfield High School. We are so proud of her. It has been a time to look back and a time to prepare for the future. We have poured through a mountain of pictures. With each picture there is a memory and a story. Some of the pictures show Anna in diapers. Some of the pictures show her in pre-school. Some of the pictures show Anna in Elementary School. In some of the pictures she has no front teeth. There are pictures of her as a Canfield Little Cardinal Cheerleader and all those dance costumes. There are pictures of her on the flag line of the high school marching band. We now have pictures of her wearing a cap and gown. You have seen her grow into a beautiful young woman both inside and out. Many of you have commented on how amazing it is that time has gone so fast. It seems like I should be taking her to another dance recital but instead we are getting her ready for college. Can anyone relate? How much has your life changed in the past five years? How much has your life changed in the last ten years? How much has your life changed in the past twenty years? Does anyone here tire of the changes? Does anyone here feel like the world has changed too much?

I believe that is the story of Naomi. Her life has changed too much. The only constant in her life as well our lives is God.

This morning I want talk about God. I am going to give you three qualities of God that will never change. They are everlasting. They will stand forever. You can hang your hat on them. They are divine truths and you can see them clearly if you look at Jesus hanging on the cross. You may want to remember them the next time your life is changing too fast. You may want to remember them the next time you think your life isn’t changing fast enough. Let us call these three divine truths. So if you are ready for these three divine truths say, “Amen!”

God’s Everlasting Commitment

My first divine truth is God’s everlasting commitment to us. Romans 3:3 says, “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God's faithfulness?” In other words, God made a commitment to us long before we made a commitment to Him. God is committed to you; God believes in you! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

They tell me fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Their conviction resulted in untold sufferings for themselves and their families. Of the 56 men, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army. Another had two sons captured. Nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He died in poverty. At the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on his own home. He died bankrupt. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion. Can anyone here question the commitment of those fifty-six men? They believed in the future of America.

Can anyone here question God’s commitment to us? He didn’t just sacrifice money or time. He sacrificed his only son. It is not easy to look at the cross. Jesus hung there for hours. He was to be an example of disobedience and Roman might. Instead, he became an example of God’s everlasting commitment to you and me. Your life may change in a million different ways but God’s everlasting commitment is a constant. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

God’s Everlasting Mercy

My second divine truth is God’s everlasting mercy. God should not be seen as a stern old man writing down all the negatives of your life. God should be seen as a loving parent who wants you to be happy in life. He wants you to be successful in life. The psalmist says, “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God. For with the Lord there is great mercy.” And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

My favorite president was Calvin Coolidge. In the early days of his presidency, Coolidge awoke one morning in his hotel room to find a cat burglar going through his pockets. Coolidge spoke up, asking the burglar not to take his watch chain because it contained an engraved charm he wanted to keep. Coolidge then engaged the thief in quiet conversation and discovered he was a college student who had no money to pay his hotel bill or buy a ticket back to campus. Coolidge counted $32 out of his wallet -- which he had also persuaded the dazed young man to give back! -- declared it to be a loan, and advised the young man to leave the way he had come so as to avoid the Secret Service! (Yes, the loan was paid back.) The former president didn’t just enforce the law. He dealt with the individual. He saw the potential of the young man and gave him another chance. I love Calvin Coolidge because he believed in mercy. God believes in mercy!

Can anyone here question that God believes in mercy? Jesus hung on the cross because God wanted to give us one more chance. If it was just the letter of the law that mattered to God then we would have gotten a one way ticket to hell. But God is a God of mercy. As long as you are in this world it is not too late. God always gives us one more chance to be saved. God gives us one more chance to live a life that is both rewarding to us and pleasing to God. Your life may change in a million different ways but God’s everlasting mercy is a constant. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

God’s Everlasting Love

The third divine truth is God’s everlasting love. Someone once said the entire Bible is summarized in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that whoever believes in him may not parish but have eternal life.” There is nothing we can do to stop God from loving us. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

During the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, sentenced a soldier to be shot for his crimes. The execution was to take place at the ringing of the evening curfew bell. However, the bell did not sound. The soldier's fiancé had climbed into the belfry and clung to the great clapper of the bell to prevent it from striking. When she was summoned by Cromwell to account for her actions, she wept as she showed him her bruised and bleeding hands. Cromwell's heart was touched and he said, "Your lover shall live because of your sacrifice. Curfew shall not ring tonight!"

The old hymn still rings true. It was written in 1876 by Robert Lowry but it is still true today. The title is: Nothing but the Blood. Do you remember the words? “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Lowry understood the divine truth. Jesus died so we could live. How can you question his everlasting love? Your life may change in a million different ways but God’s everlasting love is a constant. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

Let me end where I began. There is Naomi. Years have past and her life has changed. She has lost both her husband and her sons. She has gained the love of her daughter-in-law. The only thing that really hasn’t changed in her life is God. How many things in your live have changed? The only thing that hasn’t changed for you and for me is God. He is the foundation on which we built our lives. He is always stable and consistent. God will always be faithful to us. God will always show us mercy. The God of the universe, who created all of this out of nothing, will always love us. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”