by John Grant
“When morning came, there was Leah! So Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I served you for Rachel, didn’t I? Why have you deceived me? ” Genesis 29:25
Laban had two daughters, Rachel and Leah. The former was gorgeous and the latter had what the writer of Genesis calls an eye problem. Jacob was smitten by Rachel and offered to Laban to work seven years for free in order to have Rachel in marriage.
When the seven years free labor had been given and the wedding occurred, there was a bait and switch, with Jacob getting Leah instead of Rachel. Jacob had a total longing and focus on Rachel. Why? His life was empty. He had lost his father’s love, he had lost his beloved mother’s love and he certainly showed no sense of God’s love.
When he saw Rachel, he thought that if he could just have her, then everything would be right in his miserable life.
Life is like that. Perhaps C.S. Lewis said it best: “Most people, if they have really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world.”
We live in a world that idolizes the empty promises of money, sex and power. If we can just have this or that, everything will be wonderful. We are motivated by power, possession, prestige and position, but we get there only to find an emptiness. Alexander the Great was in his thirties when he had conquered all of the then known world and cried out in anguish: “Are there no more worlds to conquer?”
The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, but it is a whole lot more difficult to mow!
The bottom line of all of this is that as long as anything other than a true worshipful and serving relationship with God, whatever we chase, will be disappointed in the end. We will chase Rachel only to wake up and find out we have Leah.
I saw a billboard this week that said: “Life is a race; enjoy it to the fullest.” Life is not a race. It is a fulfillment…. a fulfillment of the person God uniquely created us to be, so let us keep our eyes on Him and live life it to the utmost.
(a thought on life from John Grant )
You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2012/07/30/jg_chasing-rachel-and-getting-leah/
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney