Sainthood

This evening I attended a Lenten service concerning the lives of faithful men and women who were recognized by the Church as saints. During the course of the talk, St. Augustine and St. Paul were distinguished as two of the greatest saints in the Church.

These important titles brought to mind a man whom Jesus praised highly for his faithfulness - John the Baptist. Of this man Jesus said, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist. Surprisingly, however, Jesus does not end with this statement. He continues to say, Notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

When Amy Carmichael was recruiting missionaries to labor with her in the efforts of caring for the needs of orphans in India she wrote: Not a word of attraction can I write to [a prospective recruit]. It will be desperately hard work, iron would snap under the strain of it. I ask for steel, that quality which is at the back of all going on, patience which cannot be tired out, and love that loves in very deed unto death. Grace in teaspoons would have sufficed for a preaching tour. It is honourable to preach. Grace in rivers was required for [ditchdigging]. Amy often looked for the missionary willing to simply scrub the toilets.

He that is greatest among you will be the servant of all. It is so easy to think that the greatest work of The Kingdom is that of the missionary or theologian or evangelist or leader. But the God of the universe lends us his path. It is this God who wears the cloak of man and becomes the servant of all men. It is this God who wears the towel around his waist that beckons us to join Him in the washing of feet and in the scrubbing of toilets.