The Remnant

They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. (Romans 1:25-26 NLT)

They traded the truth about God for a lie. That really paints a bleak picture, doesn't it? Down through the generations, everywhere we go, we would have found those whose hearts remained steadfast in their worship of the one true God. They might even be referred to as a 'remnant' of faithful believers. Even in the face of those who follow more 'popular trends' or 'cultural norms', they remained true to the teachings of scripture and their worship of the King of Kings. They wouldn't be swept along into the cultural norms. If we didn't have their examples and their faithfulness, where would we be today?

The 'remnant' has always been the ones to bring a nation back to God. Scripture records account after account of those who remained faithful amid the growing 'trend' to go the opposite direction. Lot wouldn't be compromised by the trends he observed in Sodom and Gomorrah. Noah was unwavering in his faith when all around him were choosing to 'do their own thing'. What seemed like 'tiny cohorts' of believers stood their ground and would not compromise their faith. They didn't stand on the street corners with their 'turn or burn' signs but lived exemplary lives of dedication to God, allowing their lives to become their testimony.

It is truly a sad thing when God abandons us to our shameful desires, but time and time again, God shows us that the choice to serve him is ours. He remains steadfast even when our commitment to him wavers or wanes cold. He will not force his way into our hearts, nor will he force us to remain true to his teachings. The choice to believe is ours - the choice to remain committed to him is also ours. Trading truth for anything less is always going to be our undoing, my friends. We might try to justify it by saying we are only trading 'a wee bit' of it because it doesn't actually 'make sense' to us, but any 'tiny bit' of compromise is still compromise!

What or who we worship and serve is entirely our choice. Culture may put pressure on us to abandon our faith in Christ, or compromise elements of his truth that they find a little too hard to stomach, but truth can never be compromised. The choice is simple to me - serve the one who remains when all else fails. Seek the truth that never changes when all around us is changing. We may be labeled a 'remnant' by some, but is there any better pursuit than truth? Just asking...