The Remnant

The movie was intense. It was not a movie Emily would choose to view. But her desire to spend time with her son overrode her sensitivity to the battle scenes between the good guys building what was good and the bad guys seeking to tear it down.

What heightened the tension in the film was that the good guys had an army of 300 men with little training, were ill-equipped and inexperienced in warfare. The bad guy’s army numbered 10,000 highly trained, well-equipped and seasoned warfare veterans. That fact alone made Emily want to grab one of the sofa’s toss pillows to shield her eyes from the unfolding action, but she reminded herself this was time shared with her son. And for that she was glad.

That night, Emily had a dream inspired by that movie. In her dream, Emily was a military officer facing an enemy army so massive it extended to the horizon. And her motive to face this army? They were holding her only son captive.

As a leader, Emily stood thirty yards in front of her army. She’d been promoted from the ranks of soldiers she trained with and spent countless hours of fellowship that gave her insight into their lives. Now the time had come to engage this enemy to save her son.

At this dramatic moment before battle, she turned to give her army a word of encouragement. But they were gone! Her army deserted her and she stood facing the enemy alone.

She was shaken by emotions of terror and betrayal. She felt hopeless to battle against this enemy and fell to her knees with her heart broken knowing the fate of her only son.

But something happened. She felt the ground rumble under her knees. Lifting her head she was drawn to look to the right and coming toward her was not an army but seven soldiers. In her heart there was a whispered knowing their hearts were called to join her in this battle for her son. This remnant of an army gave her hope. Even though outnumbered she stepped forward to engage the enemy.

She woke up flushed by emotions that equaled the intensity she experienced watching the movie with her son. It felt so real, was the thought that got out of bed with her.

It was time to begin the day. Some of Emily’s morning activities were so routine they required little engagement of her mind. It was during these routine activities her mind was unleashed and darted out to collect random thoughts. And random thoughts they were—from the past, present and future.

It was as if her mind took on the role of an auctioneer. Each thought was like an item placed on the auction block to be sold to the highest bidder.

Today it was as if the auctioneer wanted to get a rise out of Christian bidders in the auction house. With words that were blasphemous the auctioneer placed on the auction block a collection of ceramic figures made in the image of today’s culture. Each figure’s image represented the complete opposite of a Christian truth. The figures mocked God, Jesus, sin, creation and depicted the Bible as a comic book.

Emily shut down the auction immediately. It was as if the figures on that auction block taunted the gold cross and chain she wore around her neck. Her heart was heavy as this was the image of the world, she lived in. She grabbed her car keys and was glad for the distraction of today’s errands.

The day unfolded easily and she headed for her last stop which was her favorite food store. Her favorite food store was a chain store and this store was not the one where Emily did her weekly shopping. But its location was ideal as it was on the way home from her completed errand runs. She parked, grabbed a cart and began to shop.

She navigated her cart down unfamiliar aisles as this store’s floorplan was not like her regular store. But she was successful locating the items on her shopping list and headed for the check-out counter.

There was only one person ahead of her and the employee manning that check-out counter, a brown-haired, middle-aged man with dark framed eyeglasses, was engaged in amiable conversation with his customer. Now it was her turn.

The brown-haired employee took to his work immediately. In no time Emily’s cart was empty and items scanned and bagged and waiting for payment. This was the usual process—no surprise—but today there was a surprise.

The brown-haired employee complimented her on the necklace around her neck—the gold cross. And as his words flowed from his lips, he put his hand up to his neck and pulled out a cross attached to a silver chain that was tucked under his shirt. He laughed and told her, “sometimes I wear it out just to annoy people.” This comment was followed by words that said if his management heard him talking to her in this way, he would be fired, but said every day he prays he’ll stand for Jesus and that we (believers) need to stay together.

Emily could add few words to those shared by the brown-haired employee other than she believed as he did and that we need each other. She couldn’t help but feel a blanket of hope and peace cover her as she looked into the face of this man—an employee of a food store she never met before at a location she stopped by strictly for convenience.

What did a brown-haired, middle-aged, employee at a food store chain have in common with a red-haired, winter-aged, customer? It was the cross.

Emily believed this was no chance encounter. It was a gift of hope given to a remnant asked to fight an enemy army that outnumbered them—a remnant that will stand for Christ.

A Remnant Stand for Christ