Loyalty

“But Ruth replied,'Don't ask me to leave you and turn back. I will go wherever you go and live wherever you live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.'"  Ruth 1:16

"One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24  

As I heard the person tell me what my friend had said, something inside of me shattered. I was crushed. For the first time in my young life, I felt the inimitable sting of betrayal. It was awful. That day, my innocent naivete' regarding the trustworthiness of friends dropped off a cliff. From then on, loyalty became a non-negotiable prerequisite for true friendships in my life.

Naomi knew loyalty. Ruth refused to abandon her to face her fate alone. She stuck close, unwilling to yield her resolve even in the face of Naomi's order to leave. As a result, both women were blessed. A family tree of character and honor was established that soon led to King David and later to Jesus himself. 

Loyalty appears to be a fading virtue in our world today. We seem to be far more interested in finding reasons to fight against one another than to fight for one another. In Jesus, we have loyalty embodied, a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Do our families and friends have that in us? 

Grace and Peace,
 
Tom Wiles
tom@fallcreekchrostian.org

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