When I was in grade school I was on the basketball team.

Not because I was any good, but because we only had 18 people in my grade and I was the tallest one.

After tryouts, our coach told who been chosen then handed out uniforms. They were bright green tank tops with gold satin shorts only the 1970's could have produced. Emblazoned across our shirts was the word Wildcats.

Clearly what made me a Wildcat was not my ability to dribble or shoot, I have never been a very good basketball player. What made me a Wildcat was the coach's decision to pick me, give me a uniform, and use me: I was not the chooser, I was the chosen.

As All Saints Sunday approaches, this story comes to mind.

After all, the Bible calls all Christians saints. And while we are reticent to use that term when referring to ourselves, the Bible clearly says we are. And when we think about it, we are saints not because we call ourselves so, but because God does. Sainthood is not based on anything we've done, but on what God has done. We are saints because God says so.

What makes us saints, then, is not our ability to act in a certain way, but God's ability to work through us in certain ways.

Sainthood is not based on good behavior, but God’s behavior. 

So when we call people saints, let’s think about it as a compliment to God. We're acknowledging God's grace to people and we're witnessing a miracle: that God uses meager souls like us to channel really good things into the world. 

We’re acknowledging that we can do good really good things, like bring love, healing, forgiveness, and reconciliation into the world. 

We’re acknowledging that saintly things that come from God, can come through us!

Sure, All Saints Day is about acknowledging Christ's followers, but most of all, it's about acknowledging Christ.