WHERE’S MY VALUE?

She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord” (GENESIS 29:35).

Many of us work out how we feel about ourselves from what we see on our social media. How many likes or double taps are we getting? Who’s reacted to our selfie? How busy is our feed? It can be on our minds all day as we try to work out how much people like us from what’s happening online.

Humans have needed value and love since the beginning. In Genesis 29, Leah understandably wanted to be loved by her husband Jacob. Her need is shown in the names she gave to her first three sons—all describing her loneliness (VV.31-34). But, sadly, it doesn’t look like Jacob ever gave her the love she looked for.

With the birth of her fourth child, Leah turned to God instead of her husband, naming her fourth son Judah, which means, “This time I will praise the Lord” (V.35). And Judah became part of Jesus’ family tree. Leah chose to find her value in God, and she became part of His story of salvation!

We can try to find meaning and significance in many ways and many different things, but only Jesus gives us our identity: children of God. We are “co-heirs with Christ” (ROMANS 8:17) and everyone else who will live with our heavenly Father forever. As Paul reminds us, nothing in this world can ever compare with the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ” (PHILIPPIANS 3:8). PC

Thinking it over . . .

Where do you find meaning and value? What would it look like for you to find your identity in Jesus, and not in what your friends or classmates say about you?