Today's Reading: Genesis 32
Following their nighttime wrestling match, the angel of the Lord tells Jacob that his name will no longer be Jacob (meaning "deceiver"), but will now be "Israel", which means "he who struggles with God" or "he who is governed by God." This change of name reflects Jacob's experience of wrestling with God and with men, and his ultimate victory.
In this story, Jacob wrestled with the angel, who represented God. This wrestling match is understood as a spiritual struggle, where Jacob grapples with his own inadequacies and his sense of unworthiness, and God's power and grace. The wrestling match symbolizes Jacob's spiritual transformation, and how through his struggles, he is able to face his fears and overcome them as he submits himself to the Lord.
The significance of Jacob's new name, Israel, is that it represents a change in his identity, from a deceiver to a person who strives with and is now governed by God. This is a transformation from a man who is focused on himself, to a man who is focused on God.
Just like Jacob, every Christ-follower is called to struggle with God and with themselves, as they seek to understand their own inadequacies and their need for God's grace. This process of struggling and wrestling with God is often referred to as the "Christian walk" or "spiritual growth."
Christians are called to take on the identity of "Christ-follower" or "disciple" of Jesus, which means to strive to follow and be governed by Jesus in their thoughts, words and actions. This implies a change of mind, heart and behavior, a new way of living. In the Bible, transformation means “change or renewal from a life that conforms to the ways of the world to one that pleases God.”
Just like Jacob, each one of us must learn “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
What will be your new name?
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