All Saints Day

Tomorrow is All Saints Day on the church calendar – it’s when we remember great Christian men and women of the past who’ve been used mightily of God. I remember once visiting England and slowly wheeling through the cloisters of Salisbury Cathedral. I could feel the history in every stone. I paused by a sepulcher; on it was carved the supine figure of a Crusader complete with shield and helmet. The inscription said he was the faithful son of a Christian land-baron and had died in battle in the Holy Lands in 1250. I couldn’t believe I was sitting beside the grave of a Christian brother from the Dark Ages! Our Savior has inspired countless generations who have fought, persevered, prayed, suffered and passed on to glory. We stand on their shoulders. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1). And here’s my favorite hymn to sing on All Saints Day:

For all the saints who from their labors rest,
Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest:
Alleluia! Alleluia! 

O may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old,
And win with them the victor’s crown of gold:
Alleluia! Alleluia!

O blest communion, fellowship divine!
We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;
Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine:
Alleluia! Alleluia!