It’s All Saint’s Day!
Not a day that most of us celebrate. Yesterday was Halloween in North America, and it, with all it’s gore and fear, is widely celebrated in our communities. Most houses nowadays are getting into decorating for Halloween as much — or in some cases more! — than they ever do for Christmas!
But today … Well I will attest that I haven’t seen any decorations for All Saints Day!
Just what is “All Saints Day” anyway?
The short history is that it has been celebrated as a religious holiday since the fourth century AD. The date wasn’t fixed until the 9th century. Some churches in Britain began honoring the saints on November 1, and under the leadership of Pope Gregory IV, this date for celebrating the saints was extended to the whole Catholic Church, and was quickly picked up by protestant churches as well, especially the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, United churches, etc. The reason was to celebrate all the saints in the church, the known as well as the unknown (I invite you to read the longer history as recorded in Wikipedia).
Although I’ve never been one to actually celebrate All Saint’s Day, the reasons for celebrating resonate with me. Especially for the day after Halloween. When the world, mostly unwittingly, celebrates the dark side, isn’t it fitting for us to celebrate the light? The part I really like about the reason, however, is that the celebration is for all saints; not just the ones who have been identified by Christianity, but the unknown ones as well!
Just what is a saint, anyway, you ask?
Good question. I asked myself that too. And the answer surprised me: The word “saint” comes from the Greek word hagios. The definition of hagios is “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.” This means that anyone who is consecrated to God is a “saint”!
The Bible itself often seems to reference the people of the church in general as “saints”. Check out these references:
“Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he also came down to the saints who lived at Lydda.” (Acts 9:32 NASB)
“And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, after receiving authority from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being put to death.” (Acts 26:10 NASB)
“Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.” (Philippians 4:21 NASB; See also Acts 9:13, Ephesians 4:12, 5:3, Romans 16:2, etc.).
This definition is further expanded by Paul. Remember the meaning of the word hagios, given above? “Consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.”? Check out Paul’s greeting to the church in Corinth: “To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours…” (1 Corinthians 1:2 NASB).
What this says, friends, is that you don’t have to be receive a special title from any human being to be a saint; rather, anyone who consecrates themselves to Jesus Christ are “saints by calling”!
Yes, there many saints that we know nothing about. And if you have consecrated yourself to the work of Jesus Christ, you, my friend, fit the definition of “saint”!
So why honor saints on All Saint’s Day?
Because it isn’t easy to be consecrated to Jesus Christ! When we take on His calling, the world hates us: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:19 NASB)! It takes a lot of courage to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you don’t believe this, then look at the sacrifices made by new believers in areas where Christians are heavily persecuted! When we honor the saints, we are honoring those who, despite the danger, love Jesus more than the world!
Let’s take a few minutes today, on this All Saint’s Day, to celebrate those who have consecrated themselves to Jesus Christ. If you have never committed your life to Jesus, then perhaps today, this All Saint’s Day, is a day for you to do so, so that you, too, might, by the Biblical definition, be considered a saint! Let’s also remember that the Christian church is full of people who attend church weekly, but who have never fully consecrated themselves to Jesus Christ, to holiness and to the work of the Lord. If this is you, why not celebrate this All Saint’s Day by taking that step, and truly earning the title of “saint”?
As an aside, please note that All Saint’s Day isn’t about worshiping the saints. Only God is to be worshiped: “for you shall not worship any other god, because the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God…” (Exodus 34:14 NASB). When we worship the saints, we make God jealous and we break His law. Rather, it is about honoring the saints. All of them. And if you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, if you have consecrated yourself to His service, then this includes you, too!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
**Much of the information for this devotional was taken from Got Questions, and you are invited to read this article for more in depth information.
