Grow Relational Roots II

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

The fourth step to growing relational roots is to be deliberate about your commitment. Your roots will grow as far as your commitment grows. Your roots relationally cannot grow deeper than your commitment. The deeper your commitment, the deeper your roots. Even in your office, the more your boss or employer knows how committed you are to that organization the deeper your roots will go in that organization. The converse is also the case. We have to be deliberate in any relationship. You cannot be committed to different people at the same level. You need to qualify your relationship, then give it the required commitment, and watch the roots grow. Read Ruth 1:11-18, it was Ruth’s commitment to Naomi that fostered the relational root growing process. ‘But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!’ Ruth 1:16-17. Amazing! Ruth was not saying ‘till death do us part’ to a husband but to her mother-in-law. Unfortunately once a lot of women hear ‘mother in-law’ they think of an enemy. Your mother in-law is not necessarily your enemy. Like Naomi, it is when the times get tough that you would know who is committed to you or not. When it is logical, fair, makes sense, and is justifiable, the Orpah’s will kiss you goodbye but the Ruth’s will cling to you and refuse to go. Since you are going to be the right person in your relationship, who are you committing to? Start with your spouse and say to your spouse ‘where you go I will go, your God will be my God and your people will be my people, where you die I will die’. A lot of people will refuse to say this. It just shows the level of your commitment even to your spouse. Then how can you expect that relationship to have deep roots? Your root is as deep as your commitment.

Prayer: Father, as You lead me in different relationships; help me attain the right level of commitment in each of my relationships, in Jesus Name