Yet will I leave a remnant that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries. Ezekiel 6:8
It seemed a never-ending sea of vehicles ahead of us as we made our way north on the New Jersey Turnpike on a Friday evening. The volume of traffic was almost unbelievable, and it was overwhelming. We seemed but an insignificant speck on what is one of the most heavily travelled highways in the world. But as the car ahead moved to another lane and I moved up behind the next car, its bright bumper sticker grabbed my attention. The message was like a beacon in the darkness, an oasis in the desert. It read ‘Christ died for the ungodly.’ I knew it was a Christian, because I have never seen any unbeliever have anything to do with that text. The driver of that car will never know what a cheer his bumper sticker was to us that day. Just one other Christian’s car, that’s all I saw. Amid the many thousands of vehicles heading north on that busy highway that day, there was a tiny remnant that I identified as belonging to the Lord. But how precious that remnant was!
Murray McCandless once said that a Christian is glad even to see another Christian’s dog. There is something very special in encountering other believers, in identifying someone who is part of the remnant that belongs to Christ. It’s not only that there are so few of us, but that we are so precious to each other. The remnant that God has so faithfully provided is made up of fellow believers who, because of Christ’s love for us and ours to him, we are able to love as brothers and sisters in the faith. As long as we can identify each other.
We could carry our Bibles at all times, with Gospel texts in bold letters; that would help others to identify us as Christ’s. But there are many other ways as well that we can enable others to identify us as part of the remnant. I have met some wonderful Christians through the simple act of giving thanks for food while at a restaurant. What about our language and our deportment, do we keep ourselves from the scruffy and filthy talk and behaviour of the world? Other saints can recognize us that way. Playing hymns or listening to music or Gospel preaching on our entertainment devices is also another identifier. We should make it a point to act and look in such a way that fellow believers will be able to identify us as part of the remnant.
Is the remnant that belongs to the Lord precious to you? -Jim MacIntosh