(un)Loved

Posted on Feb 22, 2013 in Passion | 0 comments

She was the unloved wife. By virtue of being the older daughter, Leah was married off to a man who was in love with her younger and more beautiful sister. She was described as having weak eyes. This could mean that she was nearsighted or, as a Bible commentator bluntly said, she must have been crossed-eyed. She might not have been as lovely as Rachel, but she was not unloveable. Yet it must have felt that way to Leah because she was not her husband’s choice.

This did not stop her from hoping and praying that she would one day have her husband’s affections. It was a lifelong pursuit. It became very obvious every time she gave birth. Just read how The Message Bible described it:

Leah became pregnant and had a son. She named him Reuben (Look, it’s a boy!). “This is a sign,” she said, “that God has seen my misery; and a sign that now my husband will love me.” She became pregnant again and had another son. “God heard,” she said, “that I was unloved and so he gave me this son also.” She named this one Simeon (God heard). She became pregnant yet again—another son. She said, “Now maybe my husband will connect with me—I’ve given him three sons!” That’s why she named him Levi (connect). (Genesis 29:31-34)

Yet it did not happen. Even after bearing him six sons and one daughter, Jacob’s affections remained with Rachel until the day he died.

The Bible mentions that the earth cannot bear the sight of a married woman who is unloved (Proverbs 30:23). Leah’s story is a reminder to me that as natural as it is to want to be loved by my husband and child, I must seek love from God, the source of Love Himself. Only then can my love tank be truly filled, and only then can I love others unreservedly.

More so, my significance as a person doesn’t depend on the titles I have, whether as a wife, mother or careerwoman. It is not based on what I can do or achieve. My significance lies in who the Bible says I am. My identity is rooted in what Christ has done for me. This removes the burden of having to prove my worth to others.

Life isn’t always fair, but our God is. Leah might have been unloved and unwanted, but out of her womb came the child Judah who produced the bloodline of the Savior of the world. She became the great grandmother of Jesus Christ. This woman whom the world deemed as unlovely played a very significant role in history.

What is your story? Do you also feel unloved, unwanted, and insignificant? Ask God to fill you with His love and tell you who you really are in His sight. He will be very happy to do so.

With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

“They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Romans 8:31-39 The Message Bible)