In Paul's letters he often referred to the people of the church as saints. The word actually means people who are set apart for God. November 1 is the day set aside to remember the saints of the church. It's a day set aside to celebrate the depth and width of the people of God.  When we think of All Saints Day we tend to think of the Gospel writers, St. Paul and people like that.  But God has called us to be saints (Romans 1:7) and we should think of ourselves as such.
Today, we remember the depth of the saints. We are certainly surrounded by a "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1), and they are no doubt rooting us on to victory. They are encouraging us to keep going, to keep running with courage and to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.  We stand on tall shoulders because so many "saints" have paved the way for us and showed us how to live for Christ. All saints day is a reminder that there are Christians who have lived before us who have ran the race of faith well.
We also celebrate the width of the people of God. We are not alone in our walk of faith. All saints day should remind us that there are people from every tribe and language and people and nation who are all part of God's kingdom.  People from every walk of life, rich and poor, young and old, educated and illiterate,  all who worship the same God through the blood of Jesus Christ.  This reminds me of one thing: I'm not alone in my walk with Christ.
A little boy was sitting in Church admiring the beautiful stained glass windows. The pastor was preaching about being a saint of God but the boy was more interested in the windows than the message. On the way home his father asked him, "What did you learn about the saints from Pastor's message today?"  He replied, "Not much from the message. But I saw that the saints are people who let the light shine through."
To all of you who let the light of Christ shine through you, Happy All Saint Day!
Pastor Tim