Yet some gleanings will remain, as when an olive tree is beaten, leaving two or three olives on the topmost branches, four or five on the fruitful boughs," declares the LORD, the God of Israel. – Isaiah 17:6

Today's Scripture Reading (May 12, 2026): Isaiah 17

There is an apple tree growing in my backyard. Every year, the tree produces more apples than we could possibly use. And so, we share bags of apples with the people around us. There is a bit of ritual. One day, usually in early September, my family gathers to pick apples. Everyone gets involved in the process, with my son and son-in-law often climbing the tree to reach the apples on the highest branches.

Days after the apples have been removed, it is amazing that as I sit by the tree, I inevitably find apples that were missed; apples that, for some reason, we were blind to on the day of the picking. We might take boxes of apples off the tree, but over more than two decades of picking the apples off the tree in my backyard, we have yet to get them all. What is even more amazing, at least to me, is that my neighbor has an apple tree as well. The tree has the same kind of apple, and every year they pick their apples. After they finish picking, I usually spot apples that have been left on their tree as well. We never get them all.

Isaiah speaks of an olive tree and notes that even after the olives have been removed, some remain on the tree. Some of the high ones are left, or olives that are hiding among the leaves. Olives that were still clinging to the tree hard enough that even when the tree is shaken, they do not fall. These olives serve as an important reminder for the prophet. Even when a nation is destroyed, there is always a remnant that is left behind. A remnant that can rebuild and begin the process over again, hopefully in a healthier way.

This idea of the remnant was an encouraging phenomenon for the prophet, and it should be for us as well. I admit that I sometimes worry about the health of the Christian Church. Sometimes I find that hate wins out over love. I worry that we have begun to tolerate our neighbor rather than love them. And maybe even a church that has decided to remake God in our image, rather than the other way around. As a church, it is a transformation that has brought pain in its wings. But Isaiah spoke of a remnant during his time, and I hope that same remnant exists today. I pray for a remnant that will begin to love again as Jesus loved. That we will care for our neighbors and sell out in an attempt to love God with everything that we are. That is the remnant that our church needs today. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Isaiah 18