Reason #711
"So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace." - Romans 11:5
Remnant: a remaining, a fragment or scrap, a trace, vestige. A small portion left over. I wrote about a story from Judges a few weeks ago, and I wrote about how I just don't understand some of this old testament stuff. Because some of it is not very pretty. It's rough and violent and filled with frustrating moments. But the thing about the bible, like I've said before, is that every part is relevant. God doesn't make mistakes, and nothing "accidentally" happens. There is a reason for it all, and today I was reminded of that as I sat through the Sunday school lesson.
We've been reading through Romans for a few months now, and it has been so convicting. Paul has been preaching to the Jews over and over again that it's not their title that will save them, it's faith. It's not because they are God's chosen, it's because of salvation. And so, to get on their level, to relate to them, Paul reminds them of where He came from. "I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin." (Romans 11:1) One of them, Paul, too, was one of God's chosen people. But had the cards fallen differently a few hundred years before, Paul wouldn't be standing in front of them talking about grace. He wouldn't be preaching salvation to the Gentiles, either. Had things gone differently a few hundred years before, Paul wouldn't have even existed.
Remember the tribe of Benjamin? Remember what they did in Judges? Remember how they committed a heinous act against an innocent girl? An act almost identical to Sodom and Gomorrah. And if you remember Sodom and Gomorra, remember where that got them? Only one man was righteous enough in God's eyes to be saved from destruction, and the entire city was destroyed. Fast forward, and history has repeated itself. And so Israel has decided to take action against the tribe of Benjamin and punish them for their sin. By the end of Judges 20, the entire tribe has been wiped out with the exception of a few. A remnant, I suppose you could say. Six hundred men escaped into the wilderness where they lived for a few months before returning home. Out of a few thousand, only 600 made it. Doesn't make much sense, does it? Why not completely wipe out the whole tribe like they always did when going to battle? Why did only 600 make it out alive? Well, although they must have been completely devastated, there was a reason God left a remnant of Benjamin, and although they might not have understood why, thousands of years later, it makes perfect sense.
You see, that's our lives. We face battles and wars and all we're left is are little remnants. It feels like we've been devastated and destroyed time and time again and we don't understand. It doesn't make sense as to why something so difficult and horrible would happen to us. Why would God allow such a thing? And, if it's going to cause that much damage, why not just put us out of our misery, right? Why let us live through something like that? So that we can be scarred for the rest of our lives? So that we can live with fear and humiliation? So that we can feel alone and ashamed, embarrassed of what happened? It's hard to have a difficult history, but that doesn't mean it can't birth a fruitful future.
We're made up of remnants, remnants of grace. And we're chosen by God, who is a God of grace. Although Benjamin probably didn't see anything good coming from the destruction they faced, good came. Because from the tribe of Benjamin, Paul came. Paul, the biggest evangelist for Jesus Christ. Paul, the one who preached salvation to not just the Jews, but the Gentiles, too. Paul was from that remnant, and from that remnant, Paul led countless numbers to Christ. The same goes for us, too. Our remnants are our stories. The way we show people God's grace. Our remnants make up who we are, and God uses each one to not only draw us close to Him, but to draw others, too. It's from those pieces that we see God's handiwork in our lives, and it's from those pieces that we learn more about who He is. And so each remnant is marked by God's saving grace. There's a reason you made it out of that battle, that trial, that struggle, or that addiction alive. There's a reason you were not completely destroyed and wiped out. You are a remnant of God's grace, hemmed in to His beautiful story of redemption and salvation. Proof that God is gracious and loving, that He is for us and not against us, and that when He is on our side, nothing can overtake us.
#711 - For remnants of God's grace.
"In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people." - Isaiah 28:5
Remnant: a remaining, a fragment or scrap, a trace, vestige. A small portion left over. I wrote about a story from Judges a few weeks ago, and I wrote about how I just don't understand some of this old testament stuff. Because some of it is not very pretty. It's rough and violent and filled with frustrating moments. But the thing about the bible, like I've said before, is that every part is relevant. God doesn't make mistakes, and nothing "accidentally" happens. There is a reason for it all, and today I was reminded of that as I sat through the Sunday school lesson.
We've been reading through Romans for a few months now, and it has been so convicting. Paul has been preaching to the Jews over and over again that it's not their title that will save them, it's faith. It's not because they are God's chosen, it's because of salvation. And so, to get on their level, to relate to them, Paul reminds them of where He came from. "I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin." (Romans 11:1) One of them, Paul, too, was one of God's chosen people. But had the cards fallen differently a few hundred years before, Paul wouldn't be standing in front of them talking about grace. He wouldn't be preaching salvation to the Gentiles, either. Had things gone differently a few hundred years before, Paul wouldn't have even existed.
Remember the tribe of Benjamin? Remember what they did in Judges? Remember how they committed a heinous act against an innocent girl? An act almost identical to Sodom and Gomorrah. And if you remember Sodom and Gomorra, remember where that got them? Only one man was righteous enough in God's eyes to be saved from destruction, and the entire city was destroyed. Fast forward, and history has repeated itself. And so Israel has decided to take action against the tribe of Benjamin and punish them for their sin. By the end of Judges 20, the entire tribe has been wiped out with the exception of a few. A remnant, I suppose you could say. Six hundred men escaped into the wilderness where they lived for a few months before returning home. Out of a few thousand, only 600 made it. Doesn't make much sense, does it? Why not completely wipe out the whole tribe like they always did when going to battle? Why did only 600 make it out alive? Well, although they must have been completely devastated, there was a reason God left a remnant of Benjamin, and although they might not have understood why, thousands of years later, it makes perfect sense.
You see, that's our lives. We face battles and wars and all we're left is are little remnants. It feels like we've been devastated and destroyed time and time again and we don't understand. It doesn't make sense as to why something so difficult and horrible would happen to us. Why would God allow such a thing? And, if it's going to cause that much damage, why not just put us out of our misery, right? Why let us live through something like that? So that we can be scarred for the rest of our lives? So that we can live with fear and humiliation? So that we can feel alone and ashamed, embarrassed of what happened? It's hard to have a difficult history, but that doesn't mean it can't birth a fruitful future.
We're made up of remnants, remnants of grace. And we're chosen by God, who is a God of grace. Although Benjamin probably didn't see anything good coming from the destruction they faced, good came. Because from the tribe of Benjamin, Paul came. Paul, the biggest evangelist for Jesus Christ. Paul, the one who preached salvation to not just the Jews, but the Gentiles, too. Paul was from that remnant, and from that remnant, Paul led countless numbers to Christ. The same goes for us, too. Our remnants are our stories. The way we show people God's grace. Our remnants make up who we are, and God uses each one to not only draw us close to Him, but to draw others, too. It's from those pieces that we see God's handiwork in our lives, and it's from those pieces that we learn more about who He is. And so each remnant is marked by God's saving grace. There's a reason you made it out of that battle, that trial, that struggle, or that addiction alive. There's a reason you were not completely destroyed and wiped out. You are a remnant of God's grace, hemmed in to His beautiful story of redemption and salvation. Proof that God is gracious and loving, that He is for us and not against us, and that when He is on our side, nothing can overtake us.
#711 - For remnants of God's grace.
"In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of his people." - Isaiah 28:5