Category: Devotion of the Day

Orpah or Ruth?

And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law; but Ruth clave unto her.
Ruth 1:14

We prove our love by our loyalty. Orpah made a show of affection, but it was Ruth who said, “Whither thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people and thy God my God.”

Judas betrayed the Lord with a kiss, not a slap. Our Lord is betrayed with a show of affection perhaps more often than in any other way. We call Him Lord, Lord, and do not what He says. He that keepeth His commandments, he it is that loveth Him, not he that just sings “O, How I Love Jesus.”

As with the woman who cried out in the crowd (Lk. 11:27, 28) and Mary in the garden (Jno. 20:17), our Lord attaches little importance to an outward show of affection, but makes obedience to His commands the primary matter. To be sure, He welcomes our kiss: “Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman…hath not ceased to kiss my feet” (Lk. 7:45); but as with husband and wife so it is with the soul and Christ, the test of love is loyalty.

There are Sunday morning Orpahs aplenty, but few Ruths who cleave unto Jesus wherever He goes, who make His people their people and His God their God.

Then Jesus Came

When the doors were shut…came Jesus…Came Jesus, the doors being shut.
John 20:19, 26.

Are you living behind closed doors bolted against some nameless dread or fear? Is it fear of man, fear of tomorrow, or some other hobgoblin that peers in the window of your soul? The Lord is with you. Not visibly as in this blessed account, but remember that He told Thomas on this same day. “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” You can count on Him, for He promised to be with us all the days – all kinds of days.

No prison bars, no dungeon gates, no walls of blindness, deafness, no Patmos isles of loneliness can keep Him out. The doors being shut…comes Jesus! “He saw them toiling in rowing…and…he cometh unto them.” Our very distress is the reason for His approach! The very fact that the doors are shut challenges Him to enter!

There is only one door He will not enter – your unyielded heart. But open that door and He will come in. All other closed doors are to Him an invitation, not a barrier.

“Came Jesus…the doors being shut.”