Lessons of Discipleship from the Book of Ruth
By: Francine Hollis
The Book of Ruth is rich with relational wisdom. We learn many lessons from the relationship between Ruth and her Kinsman-Redeemer, Boaz. But another relationship we glean from is the relationship between Naomi and Ruth. Upon a closer look, we can see teachings about discipling women – both what to do and what not to do. Here are 3 lessons of discipleship that I personally learned from the book of Ruth.
Lesson 1 – Take them with you on your journey.
“So [Naomi] set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law [Orpah and Ruth], and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.” (Ruth 1:7)
Consider Jesus when he was first calling the disciples as described in the Gospel of John. In the first few chapters, several times we encounter the phrase, “Come and See.” When two of John the Baptist’s disciples decided to follow Jesus, he asks them what they were looking for (John 1:37-38). Their answer indicates that they wanted to be his students. He could have shared so much more with them in that moment. A lengthy theological exchange could have taken place, but instead Jesus says, “come and you will see (John 1:39).” In doing life with Jesus, they would gain far more than one conversation could offer them.
Like Naomi and Ruth or Jesus and His disciples, we, too, do life with those we are discipling. A good friend once told me to invite women I am discipling into the rhythms of life. Take them with you. Jesus did the same with his disciples as they walked long distances and probably talked for hours. They attended a wedding with him at Cana in Galilee (John 2:1) and then watched him cleanse the temple in Jerusalem (John 2:13), a several day’s journey. Imagine what they gleaned walking with Jesus, being in his presence, even when he was not delivering a message or miraculously feeding the multitudes. Much of discipleship is caught, not taught as the women we bring into our rhythms of life observe us in different contexts and watch how the Word of God informs how we behave. They observe how we handle our friendships, what we do when someone cuts in front of us at the grocery store, how we handle our children’s tantrums and how we submit to our husbands. They will watch us do it right and they will watch us do it wrong and confess and repent. They can only do so if we take them on our journey.
Lesson 2 – Maintain your healthy discipleship commitment, even if there is an unexpected event in your life.
“But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go, return each of you to her mother's house.’” (Ruth 1:8a) “But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?” (Ruth 1:11)
I believe one of Naomi’s greatest mistakes in her relationship with her daughters-in-law was her attempt to send them away during her tragedy. Naomi had lost her husband and both her sons. Besides her deep grief, she had no one to take care of her, she was in a foreign land without extended family, facing poverty. Amid her difficult situation, she tried to go her separate way – to send her daughters-in-law back to their families in Moab.
In Naomi’s mind she did not have much to offer them and they were better off elsewhere. She perhaps thought she was doing the right thing. However, we get a peek at the weight of this decision in Ruth 1:15 “And she said, ‘See, your sister-in-law [Orpah] has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.’” In a lapse in perspective, Naomi was willing to send them back to false gods. Ruth stayed. Orpah went. We do not know what happened to Orpah, she may have gone back to serving her false gods in her family of origin. There was eternal weight in that decision. Perhaps our disciples will miss something critical as well if we attempt to send them away at the wrong time.
Think of the grace shown to us by Christ allowing us a peek into His wrestle in the Garden of Gethsemane (John 26:36-42). We get a front row seat in watching our Savior cry out to the Father for His cup to pass. We watch him place his trust in the Lord as he resolves that there is no other way. We learn that it is ok to wrestle. It is ok to ask. And how to ultimately surrender to the Father’s will. Our lives get to be a peek into that for the women we disciple as well. It is powerful to watch others journey, not just when the journey is easy, but also when it is hard.
Jesus told us that in this life we will have trouble. We know that challenges are coming. But if you are in a healthy discipling relationship with a woman and the unexpected happens, we should consider allowing them, to some extent, to journey with us in the hard places. What they learn from seeing a mature sister in Christ weather the storm, will be invaluable to them when their own storms come. If we are able, my hope is that we would not dismiss them and preclude their opportunity to do so.
Lesson 3 – Sometimes, they take care of you too.
“And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.’ And she said to her, ‘Go, my daughter.’” (Ruth 2:2) “And [Ruth] took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. [Ruth] also brought out and gave [Naomi] what food she had left over after being satisfied.” (Ruth 2:18)
Naomi would have had difficulty doing the hard work of gleaning, so Ruth did it for her. We too should allow the women we disciple to care for us at times. We see in John 4:8, when Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well, that his disciples, “had gone away into the city to buy food.” They went to buy food for our Savior who could turn water into wine and feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. He did not have to, but he chose to receive their care. If Jesus could receive a gift, so can we. In fact, more than he, we will probably need a gift of grace here or there from the women whom we disciple. Say yes when they offer to watch the kids while you get alone time or go on a date night. They want to cook a meal because they know that your week has been hectic, receive it with joy. They are practicing generosity with you and being blessed by it, as it is “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b).
Perhaps these few lessons we learn from the book of Ruth will help us all grow as we disciple women. I pray that I will grow in my ability to take them with me on the journey, to keep them close even when life gets hard and to be open to receive from them even as I give to them. And by God’s grace, when I stand before our Lord and give account of these relationships, I will hear, “Well done.” I pray the same for you.
