During a
television news report on the plight of refugees displaced from a war-torn
country, I was struck by the words of a 10-year-old girl. Despite there being
little possibility of returning to their home, she showed a resilient spirit:
“When we go back, I’m going to visit my neighbors; I’m going to play with my
friends,” she said with quiet determination. “My father says we don’t have a
house. And I said we are going to fix it.”
There is
a place for tenacity in life, especially when it is rooted in our faith in God
and love for others. The book of Ruth begins with three women bound together by
tragedy. After Naomi’s husband and two sons died, she decided to return to her
home in Bethlehem and urged her widowed daughters-in-law to stay in their
country of Moab. Orpah remained but Ruth vowed to go with Naomi, saying, “Your
people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16). When Naomi saw
that Ruth “was determined to go with her” (v.18), they began their journey
together.
Stubbornness is sometimes rooted in pride, but commitment grows from love. When Jesus went to the cross, “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). From His determination to die for us, we find the resolve to live for Him.
