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A grandmother blogs, keeping a kind of weekly diary on the Internet.
She wants to leave her mark on her grandchildren's lives and teach them wisdom and true values. Every Wednesday, a new post appears on her site. I read the following: "Wrong is wrong, even if everyone does it. Right is right, even if nobody does it."
This statement challenges me! Where do we want to position ourselves? Do we want to be part of the mainstream or are we people with a profile? Do we want to be different or do we want to stand out less? Let me introduce you to a biblical concept. It's called 'the remnant'. Sounds exotic? I admit, it's not something you hear about every day. But this principle of the remnant runs like a red thread through the whole Bible.
Right at the beginning there is the dramatic story of a great catastrophe, the Flood. The whole world was flooded. But the story of the Flood is also the story of a very special family: Noah's family. They were the first remnant mentioned in the Bible. "Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark" (Genesis 7:23). But why Noah? We read this about him: "... Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God" (Genesis 6:9). God said to him: "... I have found you righteous in this generation… And Noah did all that the Lord commanded him" (Genesis 7:1, 5).
The difference between Noah's family and the rest of the world was that they believed God's message. They followed God by faith. They chose to be the remnant. They agreed to God's terms and this ultimately saved their lives.
A few chapters later in the Bible we read the story of Abraham. He too trusted God unconditionally when he was asked to leave his home to go to a land that God himself would show him. He too was part of that remnant.
Ultimately, the people of Israel were to worship the one true God in the midst of pagan neighbouring nations, and to keep His commandments. God's people were not to be part of the rest. They were to stand out and be a blessing to all.
The Bible tells us about these people without idealising them. They too were human and made mistakes. Yet God had chosen them to be His ambassadors. He gave them important responsibilities. That's the way God is! He gives everyone the opportunity to be part of the remnant!
We started with Noah and his family, and now we are going to the very end of the Bible. Again, the remnant plays a very important role. Towards the end of time, just before the return of Jesus, God sends a final message of warning to the inhabitants of the earth. This message is symbolically represented in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Three angels fly through the middle of the sky and call us to worship and honour the true God. They announce the defeat of God's enemies and describe the consequences for those who do not worship God but his adversary (Revelation 14).
God calls His faithful followers, the remnant, to hold fast to His commandments and to keep their faith in Jesus. The remnant is to pass on this message to those around them. In these last days, every person is confronted with God's message and must make a decision for or against God.
Wrong remains wrong, even if everyone does it. Right remains right, even if no one does it. Revelation 12-14 describes how Satan mobilises all his powers to turn people away from the loving, faithful, and true God. But there are people who are standing on the side of truth and sharing God's message at this time. They are standing up for the cause of Jesus. The Bible calls them the 'remnant'.
Do you want to be different? Or would you rather be like everyone else around you? Will it be easy to share God's message in this final stage of world history? Probably not! But I hope that our decision will not be influenced by the majority or by comfort, but by what is real, true, and right.
Bible texts for in-depth study:
Genesis 7:23; 12:1-3; Deuteronomy 4:6-8; Ezra 9:8; Isaiah 11:11; Jeremiah 23:3; Zephaniah 3:12; Romans 11:1-7; 1 Peter 1:16-19; 2 Peter 3:10-14; Revelation 12:17; 14:6-12; 18:1-4
