by Pastor Douglas Brauner

Child of God

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome… Then he blessed him there.”
Genesis 32:28-29 New International Version

Mystery surrounds the account of Jacob wrestling with God. When introduced to this story, Moses tells us that Jacob wrestles with an unnamed man, a stranger whom later Jacob asked to know by name. It is only in the words of this stranger that we learn that he has wrestled with God, as well as with people.

A lot of water has flowed under the proverbial bridge of Jacob’s life, a life where he is often looking for a blessing. He steals the blessing from his brother. He wants the blessing of Laban, his uncle, to marry Rachel, but is deceived into marrying her sister. And now, after a night of wrestling with this man to the point that the man puts out his joint, he seeks another blessing.

Does Jacob’s life sound familiar to you? Do you find yourself wanting the blessing of others? The blessing of a parent? The blessing of a spouse? The blessing of a boss? Yet, it seems like your life is anything but blessed. Do you know what the blessing you seek is? The blessing of joy? The blessing of peace? The blessing of things?

God gave Jacob another name, a name that would represent his striving, a striving with God and a striving with people. It would be a name symbolizing that he had prevailed. It was a name that would forever mark his descendants. His blessing was the name, Israel.

In your striving with God and others, he has given you a new name. It is the name, child of God. Because Jesus strove for you on his cross, and because he conquered death, you have been called and named a child of God. This is your true blessing.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado