Struggle and Overcome

We hate change. We despise, fear, and avoid it at all costs. But change is not only inevitable, it is a mandatory part of our relationship with Christ. We must change in order to follow him. We must be continually changing to follow him. It is not a one-time event. Real change lasts.

In Genesis 32, Jacob has quite a life-changing encounter with…someone. God himself…angel…we don’t really know for sure. What we do know is that Jacob was changed forever. Jacob wrestles with this man through the night, loses, and then says he will not let go unless this man blesses him. Then we get this in 32:28: 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.” In 29, the man blesses Jacob.

The first condition for change that we see in Jacob is that he wanted it. He begged the man for a blessing and was willing to fight for it. He wanted to be changed, he wanted to be blessed. Next, the man tells him that his name will be changed, which was an extremely significant event in biblical times. It signified not only a change in name, but a change in character and personality. The man tells him he will be changed because he has struggled with God and with humans and he has overcome. Jacob struggled with God. He struggled with his faith. He wrestled with God. He also struggled with humans. He struggled in his relationships. Then comes the key part: he overcame. He overcame his struggles.

In order to be changed and blessed, you have to want it. You have to fight for it. You have to search for it. You will struggle with God and you will struggle with men. It will not be easy and will not be without pain, lets not forget that Jacob got his hip snapped. Then, in the end, you must overcome. You must overcome your struggles with God and with men. Only then can you be changed, and only then will you be blessed. True change doesn’t come easy, but it lasts forever and is worth fighting for.  

What does it mean to be a Christian?

         Over and over again I see pastors preaching and teachers teaching about what it means to be a Christian. They say “These are the things you do” and “These are the things you say” and “This is how you respond in this situation”. We hear these things all the time, which are by no means bad things. But these statements should prompt the Christian thinker (which we all should be) to wonder "what does it really mean to be a Christian?" Another thing that I hear over and over again is that it is your sin, or lack there of, that defines your Christianity and spirituality. 

       
 Really church? My lack of sin makes me a Christian? No person has ever lived without a lack of sin except Jesus. Everyone around you has done worse things than you’ll ever know. We have ALL sinned and ALL fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). In this world we cannot escape sin , even as followers of Christ. Until the day we die, we will be tempted and we will fail. We will sin and we will deserve death for it. It is not your sin that defines who you are or your Christianity; it is your repentance. All men sin, not all repent. Repentance is the defining factor. Genuine repentance comes from a realization of your sin and a confessing of your sin before God. After that, you pray to God to give you the strength to turn from your sin.

It is an absurd notion that if you don’t sin that makes you a good Christian. No Christian avoids sinning and no amount of good deeds or lack of bad deeds will buy you a ticket to the Kingdom of God. Repentance defines your Christianity.