ALL Saints Day

When the Apostle Paul wrote to congregations he often included the phrase of greetings to all the saints. For Paul the term saints included all those who had been baptized into Christ. Every follower of Jesus was a saint by definition.  Hundreds of years later the now organized church redefined the term saint to mean some one who had been especially good or a martyr. Even later they added the qualification that the person to be declared a saint must have preformed a miracle after death. 

I much prefer Paul’s idea of saint! Often when teaching bible studies on Paul’s letters I note that difference and start calling class members saint + their name. In one class I turned to a woman and called her, “Saint Joyce” and her husband who was also in the class cried out, “Oh no Pastor Larry you don’t know what you have just done to me.” She was Saint Joyce from then on. No matter where she traveled she let people know that she was Saint Joyce.

Are you a follower of Jesus? Then add  your Saint to your name and smile.