To all who are in Rome, loved by God, called as saints.
Romans 1:7 CSB
Ask any number of believers the question, “Are you a saint?” and I bet that most of them will answer in the negative. The term today carries the connotation of being particularly holy, a level of holiness that most seem uninterested in achieving. And in some traditions, being a saint is a title that is conferred upon only a select handful of individuals long after their death.
But that is not how the term is used in the Bible. In the Bible, being a saint is not a title given out of respect for a person’s life and walk with God. Instead, it is a term used to identify those who belong to God. A saint is one who has been called out of this world to serve God. And that is not just the cream of the crop. All of us who have come into a relationship with God through faith in Christ are called to leave this world behind and serve God. All believers are called to be saints.
Living As A Saint
As saints, we have been called to leave this world behind and live under God’s authority. That doesn’t mean that we physically go and live in a monastery and throw off any human authority that we find ourselves under. But it does mean that God has our hearts and that our desires are for him rather than for the trappings of this world: better houses or cars; a nice bank account; striving for some standard of human beauty; finding excitement in the world’s pleasures. Not that any of those things are necessarily wrong. Unless they have become the focus of our lives.
Dare to live as a saint, as one of God’s called-out ones. Live the few short years you have here in service to him rather than yourself. Strive to hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
