To be loved "less"...
"So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah."
(Genesis 29:30)
My wife is not much of a reader. But a decade or so ago, she discovered the OUTLANDER series by Diana Gabaldon. She's really all of the books in the series, and together we've been watching the STARS channel series.
If you're unfamiliar, the story is about a British woman (Claire) who, just after WWII, while on her honeymoon (with Frank) in Scotland, gets inadvertently sent back in time 200 years earlier. In her attempt to navigate the new time period (and not knowing if she'd ever see the 20th century again), she meets, falls in love with, and marries a Scot (Jamie Frasier). They have all sorts of adventures in Book (and Season) One. When Book/Season Two begins, she's suddenly back home in the "modern times" (1948), having been gone for 2 years (note: the book/season plays out both the present and the past that led her to this point).
Anyway, when she first returns to 1948, she's torn. She's still 100% completely and totally in love with Jamie (she's even expecting his child!)... yet "back" with her original husband (who, as a side note, looks an awful lot (emphasis on the AWFUL) like his ancestor, Capt. "Black Jack" Randall... a British officer who terrorized Claire & Jamie relentlessly in Scotland, during Book/Season One.
As I was reading the story of Jacob and the CRAZY drama he experienced getting married (twice!) and having 13 children (with 4 different women, all in the same family)... I was reminded of OUTLANDER. There's a verse early on that sets the tone for the whole saga: "And Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah" (Gen. 29:30). (NOTE: In Outlander, it's clear that Claire loves Jamie much more than Frank, her first husband. Though, to be fair, they barely had time together as a couple before she was transported back in time).
But how tragic to be "loved less." Granted, most of us don't have multiple spouses today... but what kind of psychological and emotional effect does this have on a person?! Let us endeavor to love the people God has placed in our lives with ALL of our hearts! No one should have to feel "less than" when it comes to being loved. Period.