Halloween's About Pursuing Sainthood???
Halloween has become one of my favorite days of the year as I get older, for it reminds me of tomorrow, All Saints Day. I believe the reason it has gotten more special to me the older I get is that some of my mentors have started to pass on, and I treasure them for the impact they have had on my life.
As I write to you, I am looking at a small blue bible that is on my shelf, a bible that was presented to me when I was born by a couple of the great saints of the church, Mr. & Mrs. George West. A dear sweet couple who were members of the church and took me and my family as part of their extended family, even though they have been gone for a long time their impact is still a part of my life, and I treasure the time God allowed us to share together. As I observe All Saints Day tomorrow, I will be remembering these great saints of the church.
A couple of weeks ago, you saw me write about one of the more recent saints of the church who went on to their reward, Jimmie Pyles. I'll remember him tomorrow as well, for how much God used him to impact my life.
The point of all this is not to go on and on about people most of you never knew just so I could go down memory lane. No, my friends, the point is to remember that on November 11, we will conclude our Daring to Dream season of Worship, Celebration, and Commitment, by making tangible expressions of our sacred promise to support the ministry of the Kingdom of God through the ministry of North Cross UMC. And why do that, and what does it have to do with All Saints Day?
Well, it's like I mentioned in last week's sermon (link available here), our task as the church, our only task, is to, by thought word, and deed, remind each other and the world of this: You are loved, and because you are loved, you were created.
All Saints Day is a day where we celebrate those who, by their example, put this message in our hearts and minds, because someone put it in their hearts and minds, so that we could be used by God to put it in someone else's heart and mind.
May we, through our faithfulness to God's calling given to us through the waters of baptism, live in such a way that when our time on earth has passed, and All Saints Day rolls around after we are gone, someone will pray a prayer of thanksgiving that God allowed us to be a part of their life because we lived in such a way as to remind them that they are loved, and because they are loved, they were created.
May it be, I pray, that we live this out in this and all seasons of our lives together.
See You Sunday!
Lamar