Many Western churches observe 1 November as a Christian holy day:
All Saints Day. Eastern Christian churches adhere to the original date
for honoring all saints of the church: the first Sunday after
Pentecost. Pope Gregory III of the Roman Catholic Church changed All
Saints Day to 1 November.
During most of my life, I’ve heard that saints were special people
who had earned a place far above common folks. Yet the Apostle Paul, in
Acts 14:15 says to the people, “We are merely human beings like
yourselves!” We have come to bring you the Good News that you should
turn...to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and
everything in them.” (New Living Translation)*
The point that I’m trying to make here is that all believers in the
Lord Jesus are to change from their old sinful ways and become “new
creatures in Christ” who are informed by the Holy Spirit. I believe this
means that they should become “saints.” The Apostle Paul was a human
being just like us, and he admitted that he had struggles, too. Perhaps
some people want to believe that they can’t be saints because then it is
easier to excuse their lapses. However, I must admit that martyred
saints do set a very high ideal and should be honored for their enormous
courage.
*The reason I’ve used the New Living Translation this time is because
the other translations that I had on hand used the word “men” to translate the Greek
word άνθρωποι which means “human beings.” (The word “anthropology” is
derived from this word.) However, the New Living Translation, in my
opinion, mistranslates the word for “men” (Greek: άνδρες) into
“friends.” (The word “androgen” is derived from this Greek word.)
