Spiritual Journeys April 13, 2026 Issue

A new beginning, a new identity

Miguel De Castro

Originally published in Portuguese

In the Bible we find accounts of people who experienced a transformation that marked a new beginning, including a change of name. For instance, God called Abram to leave his homeland and journey to a new place that he would be shown. God said, “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great” (Genesis 12:2). 

Abram obeyed, and God not only gave him a son in his old age but also changed his name to Abraham and made him, as promised, “a father of many nations” (Genesis 17:5). 

Later, Abraham’s grandson Jacob was commanded by God to return to his homeland. Dreading a confrontation with the brother he had fled from many years earlier, he wrestled with an angel in the night and refused to let go until the angel blessed him. At daybreak the angel declared, “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed” (Genesis 32:28).

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