Who Do We Love More?

ByPastor Wynn

Text:  Genesis 29:31-35

“…the LORD saw that Leah was hated…” (v.31).   “…Because the LORD saw that I was hated…” (v.33).

In this portion of the text, we find an interesting contrast.  Jacob now has two wives.  The first, Leah, became his by the deceit of Laban (Gen. 29:19-25).  Jacob had desired Rachel to be his wife, but he was first married to Leah.  After he earned the privilege marry Rachel, his lack of amorous feelings for Leah became obvious. Twice in the text, it states that he “hated” Leah (vv. 31, 33).  Both times, the Hebrew word is the same and it means, “to hate (personal) :- enemy, foe, (be) hate (-ful, -r), odious, × utterly.” [James Strong, Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary, (Austin, TX: WORDsearch Corp., 2007), WORDsearch CROSS e-book, Under: “8130”].

Jacob now has two wives, and the Scriptures declare that he “hated” Leah, but he loved Rachel  (vv. 20, 30).  However, there is a comparison that is missed in a casual reading of the text.  It is important to note that verse 30 states, “…and he loved also Rachel more than Leah…”    In Jacob’s mind, he loved them both.  Later, he would choose to be buried with Leah (Gen. 49:29-31).  However, his love for Rachel was so much stronger that it made his love for Leah look like hate, in comparison.

This is a perfect picture of what the Lord was teaching when He said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:26; cf. Matt. 10:37).  Jacob’s example reveals a great application of Christ’s teaching.  For those of us who claim to know and love Christ, our love for Him should be so strong that it makes all of our other relationships of love appear as hate, in comparison.

Like Jacob, our love should cause us to willingly and joyfully serve.  The promise of close fellowship with Christ should motivate us to serve Him with all our heart.  He must be our first love and priority.  Yes, we should love our parents, love our family and others.  However, they should pale in comparison with our love for Christ.

There was a day when Peter was confronted with the depth of his love for Christ.  He had repeatedly professed his love and committed to Christ and, yet, he had miserably failed during that dark night in the court yard of Pilate’s palace.  Then, after the resurrection, Christ confronts him with a searching question of the depth of his love.  While they are on the sea shore and dining on fish, the Lord looks at Peter and says, “Simon, son of Jonas, loves thou me more than these?” (Jn. 21:15).  The question is repeated two more times (vv. 16, 17).  Simon was confronted with the question of who he loved more.  That’s the standard!  Obviously, Peter’s love for Christ was not at the “more” level yet.  His love for the others did not appear as hate.  Some have suggested that the “more than these” refers to the boats and fishing nets to which Peter had returned (Jn. 21:3).  Yet, his love for Christ was not strong enough to make it appear that he hated those things either.  Therefore, the question was justifiable.

How much do I love Christ?  Does my love for Him supersede all others?  Is it the supreme love of my life?  Is my love for Christ so strong that it makes all my other relationships look like hate?  If I love anything more than Christ, then it must appear that I hate Him.  God forbid!  Lord, help me to love you more.

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