"I'm Not a Saint?"

Some of y'all, given the presence of The Terrible Towel on my office door, may be under the impression I am not a big fan of the Saints.  Allow me the opportunity to clarify that I have nothing but the deepest respect and affection for all the Saints, and today, of all days, is the perfect day for ALL Christians to declare their love for the Saints.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, today is All Saints Day.

As we saw during worship last week, remembering the saints is a crucial part of our spiritual health, for when we remember the saints we remember that the work we do here is not ours, but God's.

This week during worship, we will share our visions and hopes for our church for the next season of our life together as we continue our journey through a season of Extravagant Generosity.  I will be sharing with you my visions and hopes for this church, and the common theme through what you will hear is that we are in the business of being and creating saints.

Whoa.

"I'm no saint."  How many times do we say this?  Doesn't the idea of being a saint intimidate you or seem VERY unrealistic?  Depends on what you mean.  If you're idea of a saint is one who is perfect, who makes no mistakes, and is absolutely free of sin and temptation, then I'm inclined to agree...it is intimidating and seemingly unrealistic.

However, what makes a saint a saint?  Utter faithfulness and devotion to God in and through all things.  Being a saint is not about YOU, it's about GOD's work in and through you.  The hardest part of being a saint is being willing to set ourselves aside and let God live through us.

The beautiful thing about the church is that Christ knew that we would not be able to live to the highest standards of Christian love and perfection if left to our own devices, and one of the reasons we were given the gift of the church is that we can encourage and support each other in our journey towards sainthood.

"I'm no saint."  Well, my friend, none of us on our own are saints.  Thank God it's not our work, but God's.

Grace and Peace, Lamar