I will follow Him.

Ruth 1:16  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.”  

This verse has a special place in my heart.  It was the theme verse of a song my wife sung to me at our wedding many years ago.  As she spoke these words to me I knew it was from a heart of love and that it was a commitment to me that she was willing to forsake all other love attachments and attach herself to me alone.

This same message should flow from the heart of every believer.  Out of our love for the Lord we should pledge our allegiance to Him above all other allegiances we may have.  We take on His identity.  We commit ourselves to His life.  We no longer are our own; we are His.  There is no turning back to who we once were or to what we once did.  We commit ourselves to following Him, wherever that may take us.

The problem so many of us face is that we lack a total commitment to the Lover of our souls.  We attach strings to our commitment.  We agree to follow Him as long as it leads us to where we want to go.  We follow Him as long as it doesn’t take us out of our comfort zone.  We follow Him as long as He stays in step with us.  We follow Him as long as He doesn’t require more of us than we want to give.

The problem we face is that the Lord does not accept us on our terms.  We can only follow Him on His terms.  He will not share our loyalties.  He commands all of our heart, mind and soul.  We conform ourselves to His image.  We obey Him in every area of our lives.  In order to follow Him we must give Him our all and not just that part of us that we want to give to Him.  We leave behind us all that would hinder us or entangle us.  We identify ourselves with Him and His people.  In other words, when we follow the Lord, we become totally engaged with Him.  We become one with Him and let Him become our number one priority in life.