Monday, 9 December: 28 Then he
said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but
Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have
prevailed.” Genesis 32:28
Some years earlier Jacob had crossed over another river
on his way north after an encounter with the Lord. He’d left his home a
fugitive rascal, fleeing for his life. Now he returned a new man, limping and
humbled. Advent changes us. When we encounter Immanuel, God with us, He remakes
us, often in ways that suit His purposes and not our own. We approach the
manger, broken, sinful, and lost and gazing upon the Christ-child find all our
hurts, our passions, and our rebellions meaningless in His holy presence. We
leave the manger forever different, limping perhaps, but better able to serve
the newborn king.
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