"So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her." (Genesis 29:20)
Years ago, a young mother, with her tiny baby in her arms, was caught in a blizzard while trying to go across the hills of South Wales. The blizzard was so much that she did not make it to her destination. When it was over, the rescuers found her body buried under a pile of snow but they discovered something else. Before her death she had taken off all her clothes and wrapped it around her baby. When they unwrapped her child, they found him alive and well. She had sacrificed her life for her son. That son, David Lloyd George, grew up to become the prime minister of Great Britain, and one of England’s greatest statesman.
There is no greater motivation in life than love. Love is powerful. When someone is motivated by true love, he or she will go to the farthest extent for the object of his or her love. True love has no limit to what It can endure, the sacrifice it will make and how much of itself it is willing to to give for the object of his love.
Solomon writing about the power of love in the the Canticles says: "Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one's house for love, it would be utterly scorned." (Songs of Solomon 8:6,7).
Love is strong. Jacob's love for Rachel made his sacrifice seem like nothing. It made the years run by quickly. Love shortens time. Time flies when love is motivating an action. Love sacrifices without complaints. It gives without requiring in return. Love gives away its rights for those it loves. It labors tirelessly to give. Love can wait.
Such demonstration of love is becoming scarce in our days. Selfishness has become the order of the day. The belief is that love is no longer worth fighting for anymore if it does not bring immediate returns. Marriages dissolve at the slightest convenience and for ridiculously flimsy reasons. Shepherds abandon flocks for greener pastures. Sheep desert the shepherd in times of hardship. Parents put their comfort above raising their children. Friends betray. Lovers jilt because the partner refuses to give in to sinful premarital sex.
Oh that true love will live again in our world. That we will see the day again when love prompts self-denying sacrifice and patience. When actions will be carried out not just because of what we can get but the good we can do. Love has not died. It is alive and well. The God-love has been shed abroad in our hearts. This is even stronger than Jacob's love. It is for us to put to use.
Today, pray to be a conveyor of this type of love. Ask God to send into your life those you can love but who may never repay you. Celebrate those who currently display unselfish love to you or have done so in the past. Look beyond your comfort and immediate benefit and gird yourself for the labor of love. It will not be a burden because love makes the heavy loads light.
Decision of the Day
The love of God is shed abroad in my heart. This love is sacrificial love. It is patient love. It is love that labors for those it loves even when there is no immediate reward. It puts people ahead of things. It does not complain when it serves. I will practice this kind of love today and everyday.
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