I got me to thinking today,
I was trying to find me a saint
And given the understanding of most
I found it rather quaint.
Saints are seen like Christ
In their character and behavior
And especially the ancient ones
Were just like the Saviour.
“There are no saints today”
This is the belief of the majority:
Not like St Paul and St Peter
Of Biblical authority.
No doubt this is your view too
If you grew up when I did,
If there were saints in that time
Please tell me where they hid.
Only today I watched a movie
About a wretched man
But a little boy befriended him
And became his only fan.
They went to the racing track
And frequented a certain bar
And regardless of the criticisms
He was that child’s star.
He was the boy’s baby-sitter
When his mother worked late
And if you saw this man’s home,
It was in an awful state.
He was often inebriated
From the alcohol he consumed,
Not a good example for a lad
As all of us would presume.
But he taught the lad to be bold
To stand up for his right
And equipped him with the skill
To hold his own in a fight.
Being very small for his age
He was always at a disadvantage
But after some time with his friend
He able to manage.
Then came a school assignment
Given to the students of his class:
Write an essay about a saint
Either of the present or past.
He chose to write about his friend
Starting first with the bad
And then he highlighted the good
That few had known he had.
He was an army officer
And had received a medal for bravery
Having rescued several officers
While battling the opposing army.
He attended faithfully to his wife
Who was in a seniors’ home,
Every week he would visit her
And not just called her on the phone.
He had done this for eight years
Even when dementia set in
And still continued his visiting
When she no longer knew him.
He was this little lad’s saint
Though to many he was zero
But after the little boy’s presentation
He became an instant hero.
I got me to thinking today
I was trying to find a saint,
Suddenly it became quite easy;
It was no longer quaint.
Fallible, flawed and feeble
All human just like me,
Even the saints in all of Scripture:
Take a look and you’ll see.
They were sometimes wretched
And at times too did fall,
Saint Paul, Peter, James and John,
Not just one, but all!
Do you still think in your mind
That all the saints are dead?
Read if you will, 1st Corinthians,
And you’ll think differently instead.
Saint Paul called them saints
He really must have been mad!
They were wretched and full of sin
Like the hero this little lad had.
It is not an earned sainthood
But it is the Christ that is within:
The one who bestowed the sainthood
When he forgave us of our sin.
He is the only Holy One
And in him is our sainthood,
Let him from this day and onwards
Be the only judge.
Stewart Russell © March 2, 2022
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