Ruth is a phenomenal woman of the Bible. After all, shouldn’t we take note when a woman has an entire book dedicated to her, seeing as there are only two? And so today, let’s look at Ruth’s example and do our best to implement her characteristics into our lives.

1: Ruth was loyal.

The story begins in a pretty sad way. Ruth’s husband has died, as has her father-in-law and brother-in-law. This leaves Ruth, her mother-in-law, Naomi, and her sister-in-law, Orpah. Now, Ruth and Orpah are citizens of Moab, and upon the deaths of their husbands, Naomi urges them to return to their own country. Both woman decide to stay with Naomi, but after some pleading from Naomi, Orpah decides to go home. That leaves just Ruth and Naomi.

Why would Ruth decide to stay with Naomi? Why would she decide to go into a foreign country with her mother-in-law, who has no way of providing for Ruth? She had an out, after all! Why not go back and try to start again! And yet, it is at this moment that Ruth delivers a beautiful, moving speech:

“Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.Where you die, I will die,And there will I be buried.The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.” (1:16-17)

Should we not all take a page out of Ruth’s book? What an amazing sense of loyalty she had! Today, it is so easy for us to simply turn back when the going gets tough; to buckle under pressure. Not Ruth, though. She has made up her mind to follow Naomi; to give up her identity, her religion, her previous way of life. She has truly given up all to follow after Naomi.

Jesus said in Luke 14:33, “So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Jesus here wasn’t saying you had to leave all of your possessions like Barnabas did and follow Him, but He is saying that you cannot place anything in this life above Him. You must be willing to follow Him at all costs–willing to leave family and money and friends and status and possession. You must be willing to cling to Him, as Ruth did to Naomi, in order to be His disciple. If we have any less loyalty than Ruth did, we are not really disciples of Jesus.

2: Ruth surrounded herself with good, older influences. 

What I love most about Ruth is that she is included in the lineage of Christ, even though she was born a Moabite. The only reason she was saved and her name preserved was because she chose to follow after Naomi. To me, that says more about Naomi than it does Ruth. You see, Naomi knew the right way. She knew that her God was the True and Living God. She knew that her people were the saved people, and because she allowed Ruth to follow after her, Ruth was lead to salvation and redemption as well.

The parallels are obvious, are they not? You and I have been given the path to salvation (and please note that it is THE path, not a path – John 14:6). We serve the True and Living God, and we are headed toward the Promised Land. We must, like Naomi, lead others toward salvation. By our influence, we must lead others closer to the Father.

At the same time, though, we must surround ourselves, as Ruth did, with older, wiser influences. Had she chosen to go her own way, lead her own life, and stubbornly decide she knew what was best–she would have never been included in Jesus’ lineage. It is so easy for those of us who are younger to decide that we know enough, or what is best, and insist on doing things our way. Instead, we must find those older influences to lead us closer to the Savior by their meek example.

Titus 2 commands the older men and women to teach the younger. The younger, then, must be willing to learn. We must be willing to adhere to their exhortations on how to love our husbands and children, on how to be reverent, on how to control our tongues.

3:  Ruth didn’t let life keep her down.

As previously stated, Ruth’s story doesn’t start out a happy one, and yet that doesn’t stop her from continuing on with Naomi, or from working hard to pick up the pieces. From there, God provided for her. She is introduced to Boaz, who saves her.

Life is going to beat us down. It is going to tear us apart at the seams sometimes. Unless we decide, like Ruth, to cling to what is good, we will be destroyed. Yet, if we decide to continue on the right path, to surround ourselves with great influences, and to trust in God, He will deliver us. After all, He has already sent us a Savior. Our job, now, is to not let life keep us down. Our job is to endure until the end (Rev. 2:10).

What other lessons can we learn from Ruth? Why is she one of your favorite women of the Bible?