Since I mentioned that I wanted to celebrate All Saints' Day as part of our Halloween traditions, I thought I'd share a little bit of my thoughts on it...
Two Sundays ago, we had a guest preacher at our church. It was All Saints' Day and he shared about what that meant for us as Methodists. I was thrilled, as you may remember I talked about celebrating the holiday within our family. You can read more about John Wesley's (the founder of Methodism) personal beliefs on saints here, but the basic gist of the sermon was that saints are actually just sanctified people. Obviously, that definition is flawed since it defines the word using the word, so we need to understand what sanctified means. Sanctified people are people who have been made holy, or are set apart. So, in truth, all Christians are saints, as all Christians are set apart by God. We do not create our holiness, it is a gift from God. Thus, it doesn't matter who we are, but WHOSE we are. I thought that was a powerful message and it reminded me of one of my absolute favorite hymns. As a protestant, I used to be shy about telling people it was one of my favorites, but I so love the message of it that I don't worry about that anymore.
I sing a song of the saints of God
Patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died
For the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
And one was a shepherdess on the green:
They were all of them saints of God --- and I mean
God helping, to be one too. Two weeks
For the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
And one was a shepherdess on the green:
They were all of them saints of God --- and I mean
God helping, to be one too. Two weeks
I sing a song of the saints of God/ Patient and brave and true. These saints that the lyrics of this song speak of were people of character. Do I display patience, bravery and truth in my life?
Who toiled and fought and lived and died/ For the Lord they loved and knew. They did everything for the Lord they "loved and knew". First, I want to know Him better. Second, I want to loved him more deeply. Third, I want to live and die for this Lord.Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23)
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,/ And one was a shepherdess on the green. They were all different people from all kinds of walks of life, all different occupations. This verse could say "and one was a therapist, and one was a painter, and one was a stay at home mom" and it would be just as true. It speaks to putting God right in the middle of our jobs here on Earth.
They were all of them saints of God --- and I mean/ God helping, to be one too. I love this line because it makes me realize that I can be a saint as I go about my daily tasks with God's help.
They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,
And his love made them strong;
And they followed the right for Jesus' sake,
The whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
And one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
And there's not any reason --- no not the least
Why I shouldn't be one too.
And his love made them strong;
And they followed the right for Jesus' sake,
The whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
And one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
And there's not any reason --- no not the least
Why I shouldn't be one too.
They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,/ And his love made them strong. One thing that was special about these saints was their love for God, but it was His love that made them strong.
And they followed the right for Jesus' sake,/ The whole of their good lives long. As I said, these were people of character and they did the right thing, not because it made them look good, but for Jesus' sake.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,/ And one was slain by a fierce wild beast. Again, their circumstances were largely irrelevant, it was their character, their love for Christ, and more than anything else His love for them, that made them who they were.
And there's not any reason --- no not the least/ Why I shouldn't be one too. And back to the part where I can be a saint, too. They were just people who loved the Lord.
They lived not only in ages past,
There are hundreds of thousands still,
The world is bright with the joyous saints
Who love to do Jesus' will.
You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea,
In church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea,
For the saints of God are just folk like me,
And I mean to be one too.
There are hundreds of thousands still,
The world is bright with the joyous saints
Who love to do Jesus' will.
You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea,
In church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea,
For the saints of God are just folk like me,
And I mean to be one too.
They lived not only in ages past,/ There are hundreds of thousands still. Saints are not just the people we read about in the Bible, or the people we have special holidays for, they are a real and active part of our world!
The world is bright with the joyous saints/ Who love to do Jesus' will. We, as Christians, really do make the world bright when we do Jesus' will. ...Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. (Phillipians 2:15)
You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea,/ In church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea. They are everywhere!
For the saints of God are just folk like me,/ And I mean to be one too. AND I MEAN TO!
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