Grandparents - Can't Live Without Them

Grandparents - Can’t Live Without Them

Ruth 4:13-17

Today is Grandparents Day

It has been celebrated on the first Sunday after Labor Day since 1978

Thanks to the efforts of a lady by the name of Marion McQuade

Mrs. McQuade made it her goal to educate young people to the important contributions of senior citizens

Her primary motivation was to champion the cause of lonely elderly in nursing homes

She also hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide

In 1978 Congress passed legislation proclaiming today as National Grandparents day

And then President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation

The statute cites the day’s purpose as

“To honor grandparents, to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children

And to help children become aware of strength, information and guidance older people can offer”

So today we honor you grandma and grandpa

Will all the grandparents stand, applause

Every year the National Grandparents Day Council chooses some grandparents as National Grandparents of the year

2008 the winners were George and Lea Wills and Russell and Joyce Martin of the great state of Arkansas

What a testimony to how special grandparents are to Arkansans

There are a great deal of grandparents in the Bible

Grandparents then, as they are now, held very important roles in the family unit

Families often lived together

So grandma and grandpa had daily interaction with their grandchildren

In the story of Ruth we learn of two especially important grandmas

Naomi and Ruth

Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David

And is 1 of only three women mentioned among the ancestry of Jesus in Matthew 1

Ruth had an extraordinary life

And she had a rough beginning

I. Ruth - The destitute widow

A. Her Pain

We all know the story of Ruth

She was a Moabite woman

Married to a Jewish man

Her husbands father had died and 10 years of wedded bliss ended when Ruth’s husband died as well

She, now a widow decided to return with her mother-in-law to the land of Judah

Ruth’s life at this point is a picture of a life that is lived apart from the will of God

Ruth had many strikes against her

She was a Gentile

She was a stranger from the covenant of Israel

She was lost in sin

But three strikes and you’re out do not apply to God and His salvation

But this is a great picture of the person outside of Christ

They too are lost in sin

Separated from God

And doomed to an eternity in Hell

That life of sin is the ultimate state of rebellion

Following the terrible Mexico City earthquake of 1985

Live satellite coverage carried the news of Mexico’s anguish to a watching world

A pastor was sitting in front of his television set stunned by the extent of the damage

Mountains of broken concrete filled the screen

Rescue workers dug frantically

Fires raged

Smoke and dust filled the air

Then suddenly in the lower left-hand corner of the screen appeared the words "Courtesy: SIN."

The letters S-I-N actually stood for Spanish International Network

But for a moment it meant something different to that pastor

It reminded him that in some way all trouble, pain, and suffering can be traced back to the problem of sin

That’s not to say that God judged Mexico City with an earthquake

We don’t know that

But if sin directly or indirectly caused such a tragedy, or even the more disastrous quake described by John in Revelation 6:12

It deserves to be treated with contempt, not courtesy

All of life’s problems, heartaches and pain can be ultimately traced back to sin

Ruth’s path to righteousness started as a destitute widow

That was her pain

B. Her pledge

With Ruth’s pledge to follow Naomi and her God she reaches a pivotal point in her life

She makes a conscious decision to follow the God of Naomi

What a testimony this is to the life Naomi lived as an example of a godly mother

Ruth could tell Naomi’s faith was real

Her God was real

And she wanted to be part of that

We do learn a very valuable lesson here though about grandparents

They may be wise

They may be experienced

They may seem to have all the answers

But they are not always right

Naomi gives her daughters-in-law some very poor advice

She actually pleads with them to remain in their homeland

And with their false gods

Lesson is - always weigh any advice you receive

Even from grandma and grandpa

Most of the time they are probably right

But as humans, they are susceptible to mistakes as well

Luckily Ruth didn’t heed Naomi’s advice

She made that decision to follow God

Only a conscious decision to receive Christ into one’s heart and life results in eternal salvation