Are you a Saint?
Saint Francis. Saint Catherine. Saint Peter. Saint Nicholas. There’s no way any of us measure up of to these dynamos, right? Wrong. According to God, I am a saint; you are a saint. And it’s not because we measure up either, it’s because Christ measured up for us. So, sainthood is not something we earn but instead something we become upon our acceptance of Christ’s payment for our sins. It’s that simple. It does come with some responsibilities though. Check out the following list from Psalm 34:
As a saint in Christ…
- I will bless the Lord at all times (vs 1)
- I will make sure praise comes continually from my mouth (vs 1)
- I will boast only in the Lord and never in myself (vs 2)
- I will encourage others to magnify the Lord (vs 3)
- I will seek the Lord, expecting an answer (vs 4)
- I will look to him and thus become radiant and unashamed (vs 5)
- I will trust that angels are encamped around me (vs 7)
- I will trust that I am blessed and not condemned when I take refuge in him (vs 7&22)
- I will trust that he is good if I’ll only “taste and see” (vs 8)
- If I seek him and fear him, I’ll have no lack (vs 9&10)
- And, if I listen, I will be taught how to fear him (vs 11)
- I will keep my tongue from evil (vs 12)
- I will not lie (vs 13)
- I will pursue peace (vs 14)
- I will trust that the Lord has got his eye on me (vs 15)
- I will trust that he hears me when I call for help (vs 15&17)
- I will understand that his face is against me when I pursue evil (vs 16)
- I will trust that when my heart is broken and crushed, he is near and saves me (vs 18)
- I will trust that, as his child, I am delivered from my many afflictions (vs 19)
- I will trust that he not just redeems but ‘keeps’ my life (vs 22)
Consider the above list nothing more than a set of joyful duties we offer to the One who made us a saint by his blood. And the thing is, because of the way he’s set up these responsibilities, each one, when performed, produces nothing but joy and peace in return.