“Again, we find ourselves wading through a sea of unfamiliar names — this time in Genesis. Time and again, Scripture will proclaim a list of begats, prompting many Christians to skip past the Old Testament in favor of the more accessible parables or epistles. But while many of these lists are filled with people about whom we know nothing at all, the very act of reading those names, of remembering their existence, reminds us that we matter. Each of those men was a unique person, desperately loved and eternally willed by God. The lists were canonized in Scripture not just because the Israelites had a particular fondness for genealogy, but also so that the Spirit could tell us that each person matters. You matter. When you feel insignificant, God sees you and delights in you.”