The Encourager
“Jacob's Love”
Jacob's Love:
by Timothy G. Ruffin
As he stood by the well, Jacob’s heart fell—Rachel, the daughter of Laban, was beautiful in form, her appearance was warm, and the second he saw her, true love was born.
They kiss and they cry, it’s an emotional high; Jacob would love her immensely until the day that he died.
… Close the curtains and roll the credits…
Right? Wrong.
This makes for a great love story, but this is not real life.
True love requires work.
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After this beautiful scene, Rachel tells her father about the man of her dreams (Genesis 29:11).
Jacob is welcomed into their home, he works for a month, and at the end of the month, Laban, Rachel’s father, has an offer.
“Should you serve me for nothing? He says, “Tell me what your wages shall be (Genesis 29:15).”
Jacob loved his youngest daughter, Rachel, and so he says,
“I will serve you seven years for your daughter, Rachel (Genesis 29:18).”
To some, this seems excessive, but to Jacob it was well worth it.
Laban says,
“It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”
“So,” verse 20 says,
“Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love that he had for her.”, Genesis 29:19-20
How sweet is that?
Good things come to those who wait.
Or, should I say: Good things come to those who love.
Today, I’m not going to write to you about being patient and persistent for the woman that you love, though that goes a long way, however, I want to examine Jacob’s motivation to serve.
Jacob was motivated to serve for seven whole years because of the ceaseless love that he had for Rachel.
In spite of the time, difficulty, and attention required to serve, Jacob’s service seemed as nothing, for he was a man immensely inspired by love.
As we consider our current crisis, as Christians, we understand we must remain faithful to God (Revelation 2:10b), we understand we must stay focused on the prize (Philippians 3:12-16), and we know that we must substitute faith for fear (2 Timothy 1:7), but we also know, such a life is easier spoken than lived.
It’s easy to talk about faith, focus, and courage when everything is swell, but when the silent killer claims thousands and thousands of lives, we are not so well.
The question is: What will it take?
What will it take to stay faithful?
What does it take to stay strong?
How can we endure the trials of life after having suffered ‘o so long?
Like Jacob: Love.
Love the Lord, love others, love yourself, and allow others to love you.
Make yourself vulnerable to love.
It was love that motivated Jacob to work seven arduous years for the woman of his dreams, may love motivate you to stay faithful in this crisis, to Jesus, the King.
If we aspire to live with our heads held high, then love will be our motivation until the day that we die.
Love: Do this and live.
Do this and be comforted.
Do this, and the long and difficult road that is ahead, will only seem like a few short days...
