And All the Saints Before Us
What with All Saints Day upon us I thought it appropriate that we entertain the notion of a "saint."
Some of us grew up with the idea of a saint being an especially holy person, who had done marvelous things in the eyes of the church and eventually, was proclaimed, so to speak, by the reigning Pontiff (pope) as a "saint." If you check your history I believe you will find that with this understanding and designation, the saintly individual must have been responsible for a "miracle" of some description. This belief in a "saint" still exists today in some faith communities. Others have a very different - you might even say a 'broader' and what I personally believe to be a more biblical understanding of a "saint."
Throughout the New Testament the apostle Paul often refers to followers of Jesus as saints, or holy ones (See 1 Corinthians 1.2, Ephesians 4.12). And it seems to me that these people are considered "saints" not so much because of what they have personally done, but because of God's immense love and favor toward them. Paul then teaches that because of God's favor these saints have a responsibility to live into the image of Jesus Christ - and it is God who empowers them to do signs and wonders that may or may not be considered "miracles." Seems to me that we all have the potential to be saints - to be what I would regard as "tiny heroes" for God!
