his name is Israel

Genesis 32:28 And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."   I read this passage earlier today and spotted the meaning of "Israel" in the footnotes.  Israel literally means "strives with God" or "struggles with God".  This is what Jacob spent a night doing as he was on the way back to his homeland with his wives and children.  The idea leaped into my mind that this was a great picture of who we are in the Lord.  We who have trusted in Christ are much like Jacob.  We have two natures.  Although we have come to know the Lord, we still strive and struggle and wrestle and wiggle away from (at times) that same Lord.  Israel wasn't just the name given to a man...it was the name given to a nation.  What if the United States of America were called "The Nation that Wrestles with God".  It doesn't have quite the same ring.  After all, it would be great to have a national name like "The Nation that Honors God" or "The Nation that Worships God", but I think it is actually the highest of honors to be considered a person or a nation that is grappling with the reality of a living God while also wrestling with the challenges of life in the flesh.  I suppose there really is no more exalted name for a human being than to be known as one who is engaged in the heavenly wrestling match.  It certainly beats a name like "The one who ignores God" or "The one who hides from God".   blessings, Rob Smith http://2daysthought.blogspot.com/