Now
Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, "I will serve you seven years for your
younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "It is better that I give her
to you than to give her to another man; stay with me." So Jacob served
seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his
love for her. Genesis 29:18-20
Since this Friday is Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be
fun to take a look at some of the great love stories in the Bible. Today we will start with Jacob and Rachel.
Do you remember what it felt like when you had feelings of
affection for that new someone special in your life? Most likely you were willing to do anything
for them. You probably thought there was
nothing that you would not do for
them. Maybe it wasn’t even a romantic
relationship. Perhaps you have a special
friend in your life that you would do anything for. I know I have friends that I would do
anything for within my power. But, would
you even become their servant?
To Love is to Serve
Voluntary
service to another is an act of true love.
Jacob loved Rachel so much that he agreed to work seven long years to
have her hand in marriage. This was the
agreement he made with Rachel’s father. While
seven years seems like a long time to wait to be married to the one you love,
for Jacob, it only seemed like a few days.
He loved Rachel and wanted to prove how much he loved her by serving. And his service was not to her but doing what
was necessary to make her father happy.
When
someone loves another like this, it seems they don’t even realize that they are
serving. They just do it. It comes naturally to care for those we
love.
Jesus
was an example of serving those He loved, and there is no doubt that He proved
His love for us. He laid down His life
for all mankind – the ultimate act of service.
Before that, He served humbly because He loved. It is this selfless attitude of love that we
can model our lives after. If I truly
love someone and want to gain their favor, it does not matter how inconvenienced
I may be, I am going to do whatever they need.
I will put aside what I think is important and put what is important to
them first.
Jacob was inconvenienced for Rachel but because he loved her
so much, but he didn’t care. He even had
to work an extra seven years because Rachel’s father tricked him into marrying
Leah, Rachel’s older sister, first because she was the oldest. It was customary for the oldest daughter to
marry first so Jacob had no choice. Poor
Jacob!! Rachel’s father said he had to
work another seven years for Rachel’s hand in marriage. He agreed immediately because he loved her so
much.
Do you willingly
and sacrificially serve those you love?
Can you cast aside what you want in order to meet someone else’s
needs? Hopefully you are in a
relationship where that works both ways. Not everyone loves unselfishly and can set
aside what they think is important to put someone else ahead of them. That is God’s great plan for us, that we love
and serve one another as He loves and serves us.
Scripture to Claim:
…his
love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah…and he worked for Laban
another seven years” to secure Rachel for his wife Genesis 29:30
