What Completes You?

Why are you looking for love
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough
To where will you go child
Tell me where will you run
To where will you run

Yes...two blogs in one day. It's been a blessing to have a day of physical rest and spiritual refreshment. The last two weeks have been largely a blur and work has been demanding as usual. With all the pitfalls that technology has brought with it, I really do appreciate the benefits it can carry. I saw a tweet from Tenth Avenue North today as they were driving in a van from Birmingham to New Jersey. They mentioned they were listening to Tim Keller's "The Struggle for Love" and being blessed by it. I thought it must be an audio book so I checked Amazon (to add it to my wish list) but it wasn't there. Upon further searching, I realized it was the name of a sermon he gave a few years ago. So, I downloaded it, free of charge, and took in 45 good minutes of Keller teaching.

What I really liked is that the anchor verses were Genesis 29:15-35. My Old Testament knowledge is lacking in relation to the New Testament so it's always good to get teaching from the OT. The first part of the sermon is how so many of us try to find our meaning in the perfect relationship...that one special person that can make us whole. This is what Jacob was looking for in Rachel. Remember, at this point Jacob had nothing in his life. His father was dead, he was broke and he had to flee from home because he took Esau's blessing and his life was in danger. He ends up with his mother's side of the family looking for something, anything, that will bring him hope, meaning and significance. He finds Rachel.

Of course, things don't work out as he hopes because Uncle Laban realizes how desperate his nephew is for Rachel so he deceives him into marrying Leah and gets him on the hook for another seven years of labor. Interestingly enough, Jacob is furious at first when he realizes he has been deceived but quickly backs down. Keller points out that Jacob probably realized at that moment that what had happened to him is exactly the same thing he did to Esau. His guilty conscience took precedent.

Then we have Leah. The older sister but clearly nowhere near as beautiful as her younger sister Rachel. She was looking for the same thing as Jacob. She just wanted this man to love her...to make her feel special, complete and whole. So what does she do? She bears a son and names him Reuben, which means "see", as in "Jacob, won't you stop looking through me and see me now?" Then she bears another son and names him Simeon, which means "one who hears", as in "Jacob, won't you finally listen to me?" Then she bears a third son and names him Levi, which means "attached", as in "Jacob, won't you please find favor in me and be my love forever?"

Of course, this story isn't just about those of us, married or unmarried, who believe that being with or finding the perfect person will be the final piece of the puzzle that allows our life to make sense and our joy to be complete. It's ultimately about putting our final hope in anything but God. That never ends well. If you are expecting perfection from anything or anyone in this world you will be disappointed every time. No relationship is meant to hold up under that kind of expectation. No job, no possession, no earthly pursuit can be that final piece of the puzzle.

But what I found interesting is the fact that while Leah, on one hand, was attempting to find validation and love from Jacob by giving him three sons, she is also calling out to the Lord at the same time. In fact, the Bible uses the capital letter LORD to indicate that Leah knew God's intimate name of Yahweh. This is the name that God uses when he enters into personal covenants with people such as Moses and Abraham. Most Jewish people used the more general term Elohim. But not Leah. She somehow had personal knowledge of God and seemed to be battling between putting her hope in Him and putting her hope in Jacob.

Sound familiar? The spiritual battle hasn't changed much in thousands of years. Finally, she bears a fourth son and names this son Judah, which is the Hebrew word for "praise". She says, "This time I will praise the LORD." Leah learned where to place her hope. It wasn't in Jacob or what she could be for him. It was in the One who in verse 31 saw that she was unloved and so opened her womb. Now that she had placed her ultimate hope and joy in God she stopped having children. She found freedom in the God who never disappoints us.

This is a great gospel message as well. Leah didn't earn her way up to God. God came down and intervened in her life. He comes to us to complete His purposes. In this case, the Messianic line continued through Leah. This also reminds me of Eldredge's assertion that a man can't take his question to a woman...namely, "Do I have what it takes?" It is not the woman's job to answer that question or to make him a man. If I am waiting for a woman to complete that part of me then I will never be truly ready for a healthy relationship. That is a question that must be taken to God.

It is worth reflecting upon...What or who are you chasing that you think will make everything better? There is only One in which you can place your hope and joy and not walk away bitterly disappointed.