Genesis 35:9-15. God appears to Jacob again, this time to tell him that he shall be Jacob no longer, "but Israel shall be your name." He then promises Jacob that a great nation will come from him "kings shall spring from you" and God will give Israel the land promised to Abraham and Isaac. When God leaves him, Jacob erects a stone pillar at the place and calls it Bethel.

There is a lot of changing of names in the Bible. Here, Jacob becomes Israel, but we also have Abram becoming Abraham, Simon becoming Peter, Saul becoming Paul, etc. I think about this a lot, being someone who goes by her middle name and thus often running into issues with what my "real" name is (especially in this age of computers!). What is my real name?

I remember in Bible study once we read that God has our real name written down and we will know it when we die. There are several Bible verses that say something like this, but at the time we were studying Revelation 2:17 "To him who conquers I will give... a white stone with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it." So do we all get a new name? Or is this only for some - for those who "conquer"? Not everyone in the Bible got their name changed.

The Revelation verse says that he who "conquers" gets a new name. Maybe it is something that happens to people who weren't living properly and then suddenly see the light and change (or vice versa, for example Lucifer becoming Satan). I like this thought. Abram's name was changed once he came to know and trust God. The same is true for Jacob, Paul, and Peter. Once they were ready to assume their mission in accordance with God's will for them, they got a new name. They had overcome the lure and lies of this world and saw God for who He is. They then learned their new name while here on earth.

Remember that God's Word is reality - he speaks all things into being. So when he changes your name, you become that person. Maybe our true names are not who we are at the moment but who God created us to be. Some people are always the person God wants them to be - like Mary and Joseph, their names are who they are. But some of us have a lot to overcome and conquer before we see God and are ready to be the people he wants us to be.

We may not get to that point until we've gone through Purgatory, but at some point, hopefully, we will conquer and we will receive our new name I can't wait! I just hope it's not Karen!😁