Meet Julie Penuel

I don't know if you are anything like me, but as I was growing up, I put a lot of stock in where I came from and my place in this world. First and foremost, I was a Penuel, and in a small town a last name said a lot. I loved introducing myself to teachers, coaches, or any adult and seeing the look in their eyes as they recognized my name. I was proud to be a Penuel. In high school my identity was wrapped up in being a member of my soccer team. Then, in college, I was a Theta.

It's easy to find our value, worth, and identity in things of this world and have your name associated with people you respect. The only problem is that people . . . well, people are human. We're bound to mess up and fail each other, so finding our significance in each other puts us on shaky ground.

Honestly, when I first read today's passage, Christ's genealogy read "blah, blah, blah" to me. It wasn't until my third read that it hit me: Christ's forefathers were not perfect. Noah was a drunk (Genesis 9:21), Jacob was a liar (Genesis 27:19), David was an adulterer (2 Samuel 11:3-4), and the list goes on. His family tree looked a lot like mine (and probably yours), but it didn't define Him.

Despite Jesus' bloodline tracing back to Adam (the original sinner), He is identified as "the son of God" in verse 38. We, as believers, also are called God's children (John 1:12-13), and that is where our security and identity should be found.

It doesn't matter that I'm a Penuel, a soccer player, or a Theta. My family will fail me, I'll get injured and lose my athletic agility, and sorority reputations change like the wind. My security is not very secure when founded in the temporal things of this earth. My worth comes from being a daughter of the King, and His reputation is good forever.