YOU'RE EXCEPTIONAL - YOU'RE A SAINT

Okay - before I even get started on this post I just have to tell you ... I had to suppress a giggle when I typed "You're a Saint" in the title. My youngest daughter and her family are Indianapolis Colts fans. Well ... maybe not as much FANS as FANATICS. Sooooo - since the New Orleans Saints defeated the Colts in this year's Super Bowl, Saint is not a word we use around our house very much. ROFL

Okay - that little motherly digression over with, let's look at the picture above for a minute. Isn't that pretty much the stereotypical image that pops in your mind when you hear the word Saint? What is a Saint, anyway? And, why would I say YOU are one?

Let's answer the question of what a Saint is, first. Most people seem to think that a Saint is a dead person who has achieved such spiritual eminence that they have been given that special title, Saint. In their case, some religious body gave them this official recognition after careful examination of their life. If their character and conduct were found to be above reproach and they had been responsible for working at least two miracles, then they met the qualifications to be made a saint. The process is known as canonization. As interesting as this procedure is, we don't find it authorized in the Bible.

Yet, that's our culture's commonly held view of a saint. Even the dictionary defines a saint as a "person officially recognized for holiness of life."

My husband calls his sister a saint all the time. I can't even count the number of times I've heard him say, "My sister is a saint!" and then go on to tell me something she has done. What he most often means by saint us that his sister is a very giving person who continually sacrifices herself to do things for others. I happen to agree with my husband's evaluation of his sister. She is a wonderful person and she IS a saint. But it's not the things she DOES that makes her one - no matter how loving and generous those things may be.

Nine times in the book of Ephesians Paul addressed his readers as saints. (see Eph. 1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3; and 6:18.)

"To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 1:1

Paul wasn't writing to a bunch of dead people who had been canonized. He was writing to people who were very much alive - and very much imperfect people. People like you and me. People who were once dead in trespasses and sin but were now alive (physically and spiritually). People who had experienced the miracle of salvation by trusting Jesus as Savior. The word saint is simply one of the many terms used to describe believers.

Saint actually means "one who has been set apart." It's related to the word sanctified. So what is a saint? Someone who is IN Christ. Simply a believer in Jesus Christ, saved by His grace, living by faith in Him, empowered by the Holy Spirit and set apart as "holy unto the Lord."

So, why did I say YOU are a saint? Because you have trusted Christ as your Savior. Because He has saved you by His grace. Because you live your life by faith in Him day in and day out. Because the Holy Spirit indwells you and empowers you. Because you, my precious friend, are set apart - sanctified for the purposes of God.

The sad thing is, most of us, as believers, don't fully embrace that. If I walked into my Sunday School class and asked, "How many of you are sinners saved by grace?" probably a good many women would raise their hand. But if I asked, "How many of you are saints?" I'd be willing to bet that very few would raise their hand. Yet, the overwhelming and consistent message of the New Testament is that we are all saints by the grace of God, sanctified because we are in Christ Jesus. Every child of God is a saint because he or she is in Christ.

Girlfriends, what we believe determines how we behave. Believing we are sinners saved by grace has a negative connotation that the enemy uses to heap guilt on our shoulders and keep us from living the abundant life God has planned for us. If we believe we are sinners, we will continue to behave like we are sinners. The fact that we have been saved by grace means that our sins are forgiven. Our past sins. Our present sins. And our future sins. We are no longer sinners. We are saints. And, yes, we are SAINTS WHO SOMETIMES SIN! But that does not mean we are sinners. We are SAINTS. Do you get the difference?

Since what we believe determines how we behave, how are we going to embrace our full identity in Christ and believe that we are Saints? I think we'll do it the same way we embrace any belief - we rehearse the truth over and over. Do you want to begin seeing yourself as a SAINT? If your answer is yes, try this: For the rest of this month, every time you brush your teeth, look into the mirror at your reflection and say "Hello, Saint Kay" or "Hello, Saint Marilyn" (insert your own name) and then say "You have been set apart today as holy unto the Lord." Will your husband think you've flipped your gourd if he overhears you talking to yourself? Probably. Shut the bathroom door!

Greet that saint you see in the mirror, sisters, and remind her she is holy unto the Lord.

You, my sisters, are EXCEPTIONAL because you are in Christ. And because you are in Him, YOU ARE A SAINT!