Good Friends
The story of Ruth
by Janice Ross
Suitable for Key Stage 2
Aims
To consider what it means to be a good and faithful friend.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the outlines of two people on a whiteboard or piece of paper, with enough room to write inside the outlines.
- Have available the following quotation and the means to display it during the assembly: ‘A good friend remembers what we were and sees what we can be.’
- Have available an image of sunshine and the means to display it during the assembly. An example is available at: https://tinyurl.com/nkbbrrsf
Assembly
- Ask the children, ‘Do you know the story of Greyfriars Bobby?’
Explain that he was a little dog who loved his owner so much that, after his owner died, he spent his days lying beside his owner’s grave in Greyfriars churchyard in Edinburgh. The story of Bobby is one that teaches us about faithfulness. The word ‘faithfulness’ means loyalty, steadfastness, always being there, being dependable. - We would all like a friend like that: someone who stays with us through the tough times and loves us so much. However, sometimes, it can be hard to recognize a true friend, one who is loyal and worth keeping by our side. Sometimes, we can be disappointed in our friends and sometimes, we can be a disappointing friend to others.
- Show the outlines of two people.
Let’s listen to a story of two very different women from the Bible who had a rather unlikely friendship.
One was a girl of about 19; the other was a woman of about 40.
Write ‘19’ on the left outline and ‘40’ on the right outline.
One had just lost her husband. The other was her mother-in-law.
Write ‘young widow’ on the left outline and ‘mother-in-law’ on the other.
One was from Bethlehem in Israel. The other was from a different place called Moab.
Write ‘Moab’ on the left outline and ‘Bethlehem’ on the other.
One had lost her husband, but she was young, with all her life before her. The other had also lost her husband, but her two sons had died too, so she asked to be called Mara, which means ‘God has made my life very bitter’. Both were very sad.
Write ‘young with her life before her’ on the left outline and ‘bitter’ on the other.
The older lady was called Naomi and the younger one’s name was Ruth.
Write ‘Ruth’ on the left outline and ‘Naomi’ on the other.
After the death of her husband and two sons, the older lady, Naomi, decided to go back to her homeland, Israel. She told her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back to your own countries and find new husbands.’
One, called Orpah, agreed and kissed Naomi goodbye. The other, Ruth, clung to her mother-in-law, saying, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you. Where you go, I’ll go. Where you stay, I’ll stay. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. Where you die, I’ll die.’
Ruth was so determined that, at last, Naomi agreed that Ruth could come with her. It wasn’t easy for Naomi to return home to Bethlehem. She had been a happy wife and mother when she left. She had had a lovely home and been fairly wealthy. Now she was coming back penniless, sad and bitter.
Now, bitter people are not easy to be around! They often hark back to the ‘good old days’ and blame everything and everyone else for their misfortunes. They can be grumpy and miserable to be with at times. This was the person Ruth had decided to be faithful to - to love and care for. It can’t have been easy for her. In those days, it was the man who went out to work to earn the money, so Naomi and Ruth would have been very poor. It is likely that many people would have wanted to avoid Naomi, so they would have avoided Ruth too.
Despite this desperate situation, Ruth cared for her mother-in-law, was always a friend to her and always did as she asked. In the end, things turned out very happily because a relative of Naomi’s saw Ruth’s lovely qualities, fell in love with her and married her, and it wasn’t long before Naomi became a grandma! - This lovely story can teach us much about faithful friendship.
Ruth knew that her mother-in-law had once been a kind and happy woman. It was the hardships that Naomi had suffered that had caused her to become sad, angry and bitter. Underneath, she was still the same person.
Time for reflection
Show the quotation and read it out.
‘A good friend remembers what we were and sees what we can be.’
On days when our friends are grumpy and unkind, hurtful and unfaithful, we - like Ruth - can try to remember what they were and can be again.
Christians believe that the Bible tells us that God is like this. He always loves us. He knows what we are and what we can be. He is a friend who promises to stick by us forever.
There are two kinds of friends we can be today.
Show the image of sunshine.
We could choose to be a fair-weather friend. This is someone whose friendship can’t be relied on in times of difficulty; fair-weather friends are only involved when life is sunny, and everything is happy and running smoothly.
Alternatively, we could choose to be an all-weather friend. This is someone who will always stick by their friends through every storm, rain or shine.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the example of Ruth.
We too would like to be faithful in our friendships.
Please help us today to be like Ruth and stick by our friends.
Amen.
Song/music
‘You are my sunshine’ by Kina Grannis, available at: https://youtu.be/XZBB6s1pQBg (3.40 minutes long)
‘The best gift’, available at: https://youtu.be/7xQIcrPkVLs (2.59 minutes long)
