The Day of All the Saints
“I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints.” That lyric from 1977 is typical of how people tend to associate “saints” with their own holy living (which in this case was not very exciting according to Billy Joel). We can and do remember those who in faith leave a “saintly” example for us to imitate. However, when we see the word “saints” used in the Bible, it’s not on account of their holy lives, but their being made holy by Christ. Ephesians 5:25-26 tells us how we become saints: Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.

“Saints” in the Bible is another word for . . . . believers or Christians. If we believe in Jesus as our Savior and are baptized, we are washed clean and are holy before God. It’s not what we do that makes us saints, but what Christ did for us.

All Saints’ Day is a centuries-old tradition that appears to have begun to remember the martyrs. It grew to include all those who have passed on to glory as believers in Jesus. Revelation 20:4-6 presents them to us in a vision given to John, focusing especially on those who were put to death for their faith:
And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God….  6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4,6)

In this picture language those who share in the first resurrection (being brought to faith during their lives on earth) will not experience the second death (eternal condemnation). They rule with Christ for a thousand years (the time from Jesus’ first coming to his second coming) in heaven.

The saints are, of course, not just those whose names we know in history or only those who have been called to the ultimate sacrifice for their faith. They are the grandmothers who faithfully trusted in their Lord, passed on the Word to their children and grandchildren, and are now enjoying the blessed life in heaven. They are the teachers and preachers who stayed true to God’s teaching in their own belief and in their proclamation of the gospel and are now at God’s side.

Perhaps in our time in the Word and our prayers today we can take a moment to reflect on the great and wonderful heritage we have received. Countless believers, made saints by God’s grace in Christ, have passed on to life eternal. What a treasure we have in their stories, chiefly as a testimony to God’s tirelessly merciful work in the world!