Lasting Effect

Lasting Effect

“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 will be my God.
Ruth 1:15-16 NIV

I read an interview about a very famous and very rich young man. When he was asked if he was raised in a particular religion his answer nearly brought me to tears. He said, "My dad believes in God, I think. I'm not sure if my mom does. I don't." His parents trained him about handling money and fame, but neglected faith so completely that he has no clue what his parents believe, if they believe anything.
For some reason, religion and faith are inexorably linked in our minds, and they shouldn't be. Anyone can practice something religious, but that has nothing to do with following Christ. Religion is what mankind does to justify himself. But following Christ is a gift God gave us so that He can justify us. And we are now entering a time when people won't even make the effort to justify themselves. They simply don't believe. And that is a sad thing indeed.

In today’s Bible verse, I like that Naomi lived her faith in such a way that Ruth never had to guess about her mother-in-law's convictions. Ruth watched Naomi bury her husband and her two sons. And in all of that grief, somehow, some way, Naomi presented her faith to Ruth in a way that caused her to take up faith in God for herself. How many of us do that for our children, our siblings, our parents and our friends? How many of us do that for our enemies? What lasting effect have we had on this unbelieving world?