Reading: Romans 11:1-6
“REMNANT SALE,” I read aloud in the
flyer from the fabric store.
“What’s that?” my friend asked. I hadn’t
heard the term in years, but I recalled buying remnants back in the day when I
was into making purses from heavy fabric.
I explained, “It’s a small amount of
material left on the end of a bolt of fabric, usually less than a yard. It would
seem useless to sell because there isn’t enough to make something from a
pattern for a dress or a suit or a robe. But these can be great for small
one-of-a-kind items like purses, placemats, potholders, etc – or they would be perfect
for making a patch-work quilt.”
When I read the verses for today, the
word “remnant” caught my eye. Several translations used this term for the small
group of Jews whom God “reserved for Himself” during Elijah’s time – Jews who had
remained faithful to Him after all the others had walked away in disobedience
and followed different gods (see Romans 11: 4; also read the story in I Kings 19: 10-18).
Paul further expanded the term to include
Jews of his day who had been chosen by God’s grace (and indeed, extends today
to those who are a faithful remnant of Jesus). We believers who are not Jewish
by birth are included in the remnant by adoption. “The grounds for the
existence of the remnant was not [our] good works but [only by] God’s grace.”
(From note on vs 5 in the NIV Study Bible).
We, God’s Remnant, are set apart by
His grace and favor for a special purpose, which I am imagining to be that
patch-work quilt of believers from “every tribe and tongue” that enjoys,
appreciates and shares the unique pattern He has created us to be together!
How grateful I am, Lord, that through your grace and mercy, I am among the
quilt remnants that make up the whole Body of Christ. May we individually and
together be a display of your beauty to the world around us. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment