Life Beyond Compare / 自我价值
Dexu Xia
Life Beyond Compare
She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Genesis 29:35
In a TV program, young adults posed as high school students to better understand the lives of teenagers. They discovered that social media plays a central role in how teens measure their self-worth. One participant observed, “[The students’] self-value is attached to social media—it’s dependent on how many ‘likes’ they get on a photo.” This need for acceptance by others can drive young people to extreme behavior online.
The longing for being accepted by others has always been there. In Genesis 29, Leah understandably yearns for the love of her husband Jacob. It’s reflected in the names of her first three sons—all capturing her loneliness (vv. 31–34). But, sadly, there’s no indication that Jacob ever gave her the acceptance she craved.
With the birth of her fourth child, Leah turned to God instead of her husband, naming her fourth son Judah, which means, “praise” (v. 35). Leah, it seems, finally chose to find her significance in God. She became part of God’s salvation story: Judah was the ancestor of King David and, later, Jesus.
We can try to find our significance in many ways and things, but only in Jesus do we find our identity as children of God, co-heirs with Christ, and those who will dwell eternally with our heavenly Father. As Paul wrote, nothing in this world compares with the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ” (Philippians 3:8).
自我价值
她又怀孕生子，说：“这回我要赞美耶和华。”-创世记29章35节
在一个电视节目里，几个年轻人扮成高中生，想更了解青少年的生活。他们发现，社交媒体会深切影响青少年对自我价值的判断。其中一人说：“这些学生的自我价值与社交媒体息息相关，乃取决于有多少人会在自己的照片按‘赞’。”这种期盼被人接纳的渴求，可能会驱使他们在网络上采取极端的行为。
我们都渴望能被人接纳。在创世记29章，利亚渴望得到她丈夫雅各的爱，这是可以理解的。她前三个儿子的名字，都隐含她的孤寂（31-34节）。但遗憾的是，雅各似乎从未给予利亚所渴望的接纳。
然而，利亚生了第四个孩子后，她开始转向上帝而不是她的丈夫。利亚为孩子取名为犹大（“赞美”之意）（35节），她似乎终于选择在上帝里面寻找她的生命意义。后来，利亚的这个儿子犹大成为大卫王的祖先，而且也是耶稣的祖先。
我们可以试着以不同的方式和事物，追寻生命的意义、衡量自己的价值。但只有在耶稣里，我们才能界定自己的身分是上帝的儿女、与基督同作后嗣，并且未来会与天父永远同住。如同保罗写道，他以认识基督为至宝（腓立比书3章8节），这乃是无与伦比的！
天父，求祢让我在祢里面看见自己的价值，
而不是从别处找寻肯定。因为祢看我为宝贵，
赐给我儿女的身分，并给我美好无比的生命！
你曾希望藉由何事界定自我的价值呢？
信靠耶稣如何让你明白自己真实的身分？