Whether we live or die, we will only follow the Lord.

When David fled because of Absalom's rebellion, he told Ittai the Gittite,

"You stay here and go back with your own people …"

But Ittai replied to David, "As surely as the Lord lives,

and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be,

whether it means life or death, there will your servant be"

(2 Samuel 15:19-21)

Reflecting on this passage,

 I am reminded of the words spoken by Ruth,

the Moabite daughter-in-law, to her mother-in-law Naomi:

"Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you.

Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.

Your people will be my people and your God my God.

I will be buried where you 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 1:16-17).

The commonality between Ittai and Ruth is their firm resolve

to go with the ones they love, even to the point of sacrificing their lives.

We, too, should make a firm decision to follow our beloved Lord,

pledging to go wherever He leads, even if it means life or death.