The Lowly Remnant
“But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
the remnant of Israel.”Zephaniah 3:12-13
What comes to mind when you hear the word “remnant” or “lowly”? Perhaps poor people or “leftovers” or those are not in the limelight. What the world sees as important or valuable might be different from what God sees as important or valuable. Rather, sometimes the world distracts us from the true importance of things with the glamour and attractiveness of what it has to offer, knowing that its “importance” is really superficial and temporary. When the Israelites went into exile, many of them turned away from God, falling again and again into idolatry. The prophets kept reminding them of God’s of love and His promises, and how He’s been faithful throughout the generations, but they did not seem to care. Except for a few. Except for the lowly and humble faithful remnant.
We are reminded that, despite the large number of Israelites who turned their backs on God, there remained some who never forgot the Lord. That even when everyone seemed to have “gone with the flow” or “jumped on the bandwagon,” there were some who refused to follow something they knew was not true. It is so easy to just follow the crowd, to blend in, to be popular, to be relevant. But, that is not the way of the Lord. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, has always lived a countercultural life. He was born into a culture of death — literally, where Herod sought to slaughter Him, when He Himself was Life itself. He proclaimed liberty when everyone was seemingly content with their unsuspecting bondage to sin and the world. He preached repentance when those around Him felt righteous in their own right, blinded by their own pride. He granted forgiveness when everyone sought revenge and persecution. Jesus was a countercultural figure because He didn’t belong to the world. Brothers and sisters, neither do we. We belong to God, we belong to heaven.
We are called to be a light in this world of darkness, to be salt for an earth that has been inundated with seasoning that strives to cover up its natural essence and flavor. Light dispels darkness. Salt brings out the flavor that lies within. We are called to remind one another of who we really are — God’s beloved sons and daughters. This world tries so hard to trick us into believing that we need to cover up who we are and put on a mask and façade so that we might be accepted and “loved.” We oftentimes fall into this trap. We love the glory and the honor and the accolades. You see there is no problem with receiving compliments and accolades, but when we begin to allow those things to define us, we begin to move away from the inherent dignity that we have, the identity we have in Christ. We become the Israelites who turned their backs on God and bowed down to the flashy idols. We have left the flock of Christ. We have removed ourselves from the lowly, faithful remnant of God.
To be Christian is to put in Christ. To be Christian is to be countercultural. To be Christian is be who we are and be that well. To be Christian is to put on humility. To be Christian is to be faithful. To God and not to the world. Brothers and sisters, are we truly Christians? Where are we today? Do we live as beloved sons and daughters of the Father or do we allow the world to define who we are? Are we part of the faithful remnant or are we standing with the crowd who has chosen the pleasures of this world over the Lord.
