Genesis 29:20
So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.
This has been a very important verse in my life and has stuck ever since I came upon this nugget of truth and love. Why has it struck me with such force? Is it because I am a hopeless romantic at heart and this is a story of true love? That is only part of it because the other part is that I relate to this story. I am Jacob and Amy is Rachel.
When you compare my conversion a few years ago to Amy’s conversion almost two decades ago, and then couple that with her father being a pastor; the issues at hand come more into focus. Amy grew up in a Christian home and was nurtured spiritually her entire life. While I was off drinking, getting drunk and doing a number of unspeakable things, she was at youth group growing in her understanding of the Lord. These differences in our pasts and the character of my newness to Christianity did not make her family very comfortable with me.
I had many issues of pride and ignorance to overcome. There were many lessons to be learned in my heart and a lot of growth to take place. Amy’s parents wouldn’t be satisfied with just anyone for their daughter. They were looking for a very particular man and I certainly did not fit that molding. The changes that were taking place in my life, the growth, the battles of my heart, the struggles, the falls I took were all for the glory of God. They were all made possible by my Lord, Jesus Christ. How is it that a drunken, prideful buffoon could have been transformed into a man seeking only God’s pleasure? I tell you that this is not an easy road to plow and this is not something I would have done on my own.
I had no real reason to change. I was seemingly happy; I had a lot of friends and led a pretty full life. I was always having fun and never at a loss for a good time. So why on earth would I choose to make such a radical change in my life? Was it because I wanted to have Amy in my life and knew there was no other way? Was I willing to work seven more long years to be with this woman? Well considering I didn’t even know that passage at the time, I severely doubt it. Furthermore, I was having relationships with other woman and was having certain desires filled by them, that I knew outside of marriage was never going to fly with Amy. Why on earth would I choose to change for Amy? The fact is that I didn’t change for her, but it was God, it was the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ that came into my heart and completely transformed my life.
Now the transformation, the conversion was easy because that was as simple as submitting myself to God and asking for forgiveness. When the Holy Spirit grabs your heart and grips your soul the submission is easy. The tough part was maturing, was my continued sanctification. I had been justified through the blood of Christ on the cross when I was called out by him to be one of his flock. But this sanctification, this continual transformation into the character of Christ was no easy road ahead.
It was this hard work, though not seven years that I toiled for several reasons. First of which was my commitment to God, that if I were to truly love him with all my mind, with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my body, then there was nothing to leave behind. I had to give my entire life into his hands, trusting he would take care of me. And he certainly has delivered me through some very tough times. Secondly, I had made a commitment to Christ’s church. I had made a commitment to be involved in the building up his church and the spreading of his word. I am serving now in his church and it is one of the most fulfilling and most time consuming aspects of my life. Thirdly, I had made a commitment to God’s people to be an example of Christ to them, to encourage them and lift them up to the Lord continually. To be a true friend and to be there for them in times of need. Finally, I was making a commitment to Amy to be a godly man and to encourage her as well, as more then just a friend, but as a helper, as a partner and as a confidant. This commitment to partnership was a golden nugget in my life. It made all the trouble of the last few years melt away and seem like only a few days.
There was still an uphill climb with her parents and asking for her hand in marriage was absolutely without a doubt the hardest thing I have had to do in my short life. It was one of the scariest moments in my life because of the judgment of her father that I knew was impending. But this love I had for her, and my trust in the Lord’s help carried me through it. After a grueling conversation, a night’s sleep, and a conversation with her mother; her father finally gave me permission to marry his daughter. I had asked him for permission, I had asked him for her hand, but I had not asked him for his blessing. And that was my fear, my sin creeping into the situation. Permission can be given begrudgingly, but blessings come only from a heart of joy.
Human love is so fragile and can so easily be broken, but human love coupled with the blessing of God and the foundation in Christ lasts forever. There are no illusions of life being all peaches-n-cream, but the foundation of Christ and the union of two hearts fixed upon him coming together to complement one another is a beautiful and blessed union indeed.
Amy recently commented on my blog and said this of me, “He is my example of chivalry, my knight on a white horse, not because he is perfect, and not because I depend on him for my survival (the Lord is first in my life, and He is my ultimate Strength), but because he is a warrior for me in the battle of life. He is the one God has created to be my helper, my friend, and my intimate ally through the amazing journey God has prepared for us both.”
Yes I am a hopeless romantic and yes I love the Lord with every ounce of who I am. Yes I adore Amy and yes her love returned to me makes all my troubled past seem like a few days in the journey to her heart.
Thanks so much for your honest, compelling story. God bless you!
Posted by: Mark at July 14, 2004 02:38 AM