Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me – Ruth 1:17.

Ruth 1:17

In the late nineteen nineties, we had the privilege of hosting a young man in our home in Ghana. He had finished his one-year National Service teaching in the Volta Region of the country and just started his first formal job. He was a very brilliant young man who spoke the English language like an Oxford graduate, but he had a problem. He was a serious alcoholic. We had taken him into our home to help him with his addiction. One Sunday after Church, he told us something I will never forget.

He said his father had a cabinet full of alcoholic drinks in their home from which he sat down to drink every Sunday after church service. He grew up admiring him and desiring to be like him one day. He insisted he was not making excuses for his drinking, but just drawing a distinction between his childhood experience and what he was experiencing in our home. But we knew better.

You see, the way we live has a great influence on the people around us. Because we are relational, what happens to one person affects the other. We may not know it, but even those with whom we do not have any close relationship watch us from afar and are influenced by our lives. The question is, what kind of influence are you on the people around you? Do you know how far up or down you are taking others with you? Do you understand the importance of your influence where you are? Do you even care?

Consider Ruth and her famous exchange with her mother-in-law, Naomi (Ruth 1:15-18). It reveals the depth of dedication that flows out of love, and the influence Naomi had on her. Ruth might have watched Naomi throughout her marriage and noticed something special in her, an excellent testimony about her people, and her God. She was so impressed by what she saw that she wanted to be a part of Naomi’s people and worship her God. When tragedy struck, and Naomi was returning to Bethlehem childless and a widow, Ruth vowed to go with her. Her life had been transformed by Naomi’s life, and they would not be separated. This is the kind of influence Christians must have on those around them!

As Jesus said in Matt. 5:13-16, we are the salt and light of the earth. Our lives must be the preservative and flavor of life on earth, and that which gives light to those living in darkness to see the love of God through Jesus. That is our Christian witness and influence in the world. 

So, what kind of, and how much of an influence are you in this world? Are you salt and light where you are? Do people see Christ through your life? What image of Christ do they see as you walk among them? Be a Naomi today, and influence a ‘Ruth’ where you are.