IS IT WORTH IT?

And they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Ruth 1:14

The most powerful tool a buyer possesses is not a bottomless pocketbook – it’s the ability to say “No!”. Why? Because every salesman wants to make that sale. He throws in every incentive or discount for one reason – so that you don’t walk away without purchasing that product.

Too many people view God like this. As long as God offers me a good enough deal, I’ll buy into His ways. But the moment I don’t like what He is offering, I’ll walk away. Consider Orpah. She was willing to put up with the Israelite religion by being married to Chilion, and she was willing to stay with Naomi for moral support. But when there was a cost attached to her commitment to Israel’s God, she quit. The cost of no husband (vs. 11) and giving up her culture, family, and religion was too great. The sad reality about her choice was that she thought that by staying in Moab she would lose nothing, but when she did she gained nothing and lost everything that mattered. After her decision, she completely disappears from the pages of Scripture, never to be mentioned again.

Jesus has called us to follow Him. Consider what it might cost: your life (2 Timothy 3:12), your money (Matthew 19:16-22), or your comforts (Matthew 8:19-22). But consider the reward. “There is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more at this time and in the age to come, eternal life” (Luke 18:29-30).

Philip Moeller