You're a Saint!

“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.” ~ Romans 1: 7

I remember listening to a sermon by the speaker John Maxwell; he said that if you treat people like they’re a 10, they’ll act like a 10. And when he’s at his church, he mentally puts 10s on everyone in his congregation. So when I read this passage in Romans written by the Apostle Paul, I realized Paul was putting 10s on each of his readers. He did this with the little phrase, "called to be saints."

Of course, the idea of saints has grown over the years to mean people living an almost sinless life and doing miracles, but that’s not what it means here. Saints are simply people who have been made righteous by God’s grace through Jesus' sacrifice and adopted into His family as His beloved children.

Because this concept really convicted me, I spent the next couple of days reminding myself that I'm called to be a saint. When I faced problems or temptations I’d ask myself, “Would a saint do that?”

I’m frustrated and want to respond with anger. “Would a saint do that?” Obviously not, so I need to act like the person I’m called to be; I need to graciously forgive.

Feelings of pride creep in about something. “Does a saint think like that?” No! God has made me a saint, so I need to curb my pride and remember everything I am and have is from God.

Something questionable is on TV. "Would a saint watch that?" No! Saints don't watch things that glorify sin, so I'm going to change the channel.

You get the idea…

Being a saint is easy (Jesus died to make us saints!); acting like a saint is hard, and that’s why He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us.

I admit that after a few days I forgot to focus on my sainthood, but that’s the beauty of God’s forgiveness and His Word; when we open it, the Holy Spirit reminds us all over again of how we need to live. My friends, God has put a 10 on each of us, and as His people we are called to be saints. This week, with His help, let’s live like it!