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.
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