Forgive
me in advance for busting out the cheesy Shakespeare. Remember Juliet’s
question? She insists that “a rose by any other name would smell as
sweet.” Ms. Allison Branch, one of my brilliant besties, always countered
that by quoting Anne of Green Gables… something like, “it could not smell
as sweet if it were called a skunk cabbage.” It’s a funny example, but the
truth in it is a good one to know. There is something to be said in calling a
thing by its right name.
a gesture of love, our Rwandese papa, Pastor Robert, gave each of us a
Kinyarwanda name. Friday night was our team’s last time with Andrew (he went
ahead of us to Uganda), so we had a bit of a goodbye party. The family gave us
each some souvenir gifts, and a name. Mine is Ingabili. It means “a
gift from God”. I love it! My friends here throw their arms in the air
laughing when I introduce myself, and that’s always fun to see. But more than
that, it speaks a truth about who I am.
Names
were a big deal in the Old Testament too. Try to find one in Genesis without
a little footnote explaining its meaning. It was also a pretty common thing for
someone to change their name in a new season of life. The most well-known
instance of that is when Jacob becomes Israel.
The
little footnote under that one really got me thinking. Israel means
“one who struggles with God.” So… the group of people that God chose
to be His, the ones He wanted to know best, the ones He loves… would not
be called “one who God chose” or “one who God blesses a
lot” or even “God’s favorite”. They would be characterized by a
wrestling match, a raw push-and-shove altercation.
Think
about the last person you had an intense argument with. It wasn’t an
acquaintance, it was someone deep in your heart. Your mom. Your husband. Your
sister. You don’t get into it with people you don’t love like crazy.
That’s
what God was saying to His people when he gave them that name.
“I
want to get into it with you. I want us to be close enough that you can hit me
if you feel like it. You’ll know which of my buttons to push to piss me off,
and I’ll know yours. Get in my face. I want you to struggle with me.”
It wasn’t about arguing; it was an invitation to
intimacy.
Something
amazing comes up later, in Isaiah. People outside of the nation of Israel accept
the invitation.
“Some will say, “I belong to the
LORD’, others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will
write on their hand, “The LORD’s” and will take the name
Israel.” (44:5)
And
here’s where I can follow up from my last post. I had been wrestling with God
about all of those questions, trying to make sense of things. But He always
does this thing, where I ask him a question, and He doesn’t really answer. He
tells me who He is, or He tells me who I am. So when I came across that passage
in Isaiah, I realized that was me… I had taken the name Israel, and everything
that comes with it.
When
I decided to live my life for Jesus, it was like stepping under the umbrella of
that covenant with Jacob. I can have a closeness with God that lets me ask him
questions, yell at Him, love Him. When I told God I was wrestling with all of
those things, that was His answer: you’re My beloved, and that’s part of the
deal.
Many
of you responded to my anger and questions with insightful thoughts and
encouragement. I am so grateful for that! We need to wrestle with these things
together. There’s a lot more steam in this train of thought, but I’m not
cussing at God under my breath anymore. Now that I see the questions as part of
the Love, it’s hard to be frustrated.
Coming
later this week, I’ll have another follow-up to this discussion, and the 6th
edition in the end-of-the-month series: “Faces of Rwanda!”
-Katie
