Fan or Follower

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16

I grew up watching the Minnesota Vikings and I now love watching them with my family every Sunday afternoon in the fall. I’d say it’s a regular part of our lives, something to which we commit 3 hours every week. We’re just fans though. We cheer. We hope they win. We even go to an occasional game, but we don’t own season tickets, and we don’t travel with the team. When they win, we celebrate. And when they lose, we’re upset for about five minutes. So, while we like the Vikings and claim them as our team, we’re just fans and as such, they play a relatively small part in our lives.

I’ve seen those stories on the local news though, of true followers – those loyalists who own season tickets and whose houses are painted purple and yellow. Every September, they dream of the Superbowl and every year, their lives are ruined all over again. They live for fall, and in the off season, they count the days until kickoff. They’re not just fans. They’re true believers – followers – and as such, their commitment radically affects their lives.

Such commitment is rare. This, however, is exactly the kind of loyalty that’s described in today’s passage. In the story, Naomi left home with her family for Moab, fleeing famine. While there, her two sons married local women, but then her husband and sons died, leaving her with two daughters-in-law. Emotionally bankrupt, she turned for home, beseeching her daughters-in-law to go find new husbands. One left, but the other, Ruth, stayed, binding their lives together – Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Ruth loved and committed herself to Naomi, displaying absolute loyalty, following with her entire life.

This contrast between fan and follower is something I think about quite a bit. Growing up, I was a fan of God. I liked God. I was on his side. I gave him a few hours every Sunday. Still though, being a fan didn’t affect my daily decisions much. I called myself a Christian, but I lived my way. My way led me to disaster though, which made me scrutinize my commitment to God. In the disaster of my addiction, I realized that I needed to actually follow God, not simply believe in him. If I wanted to turn my life around, I realized that my faith must radically affect everything about me. If I wanted the life for which God created me, then I had to become a true follower, not just a fan.