Sample Livestock and/or Ranch Brand
OLD WEST COWBOY SAINTS
Thousands of heads of cattle roaming through unfenced ranges in the Old West presented a powerful temptation. To some, the scene looked as profitable as bags of money lying around in the street. Besides, the actual cattle owners were often eastern bankers or foreign investors who surely wouldn’t miss a couple cows or more. However, they did have to deal with the cowboy saints.
No way anyone could guess how many hundreds of thousands of bovines got rustled during those early days of the cattle business out West. When you add those the Natives decided to appropriate, a person begins to wonder how any man or company stayed in business.
Cowboy Loyalty
One of the reasons they prospered had to do with the loyalty of the cowboy saints. To an old-time rustler, a saint was any cowboy loyal to “the brand.”
Now some might object that’s a mighty loose definition of the word ‘saint.’ I suppose we’ve perpetuated the idea that a saint is an almost other-worldly character who floats over the earth’s surface doing gracious good deeds no mere mortal would successfully complete. We often suppose saints to be only those who’ve done supernatural miracles. They get their pictures in stained glass windows and their birthdays honored in old-time calendars.
A Heavenly Angel or Human Saint?
What Is A Saint?
But that’s not the Biblical view of a saint. The word actually means ‘the holy ones’ and applies to all believers, even cowboys.
Paul addresses the book of Romans to “all in Rome loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:7).
In 1 Corinthians 14, he gives instruction for all the “congregations of the saints” (verse 33).
Giving to the poor believers alludes to in II Corinthians 9 a “service to the saints” (verse 1).
And Paul promises all the believers in Colossae will “share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” (verse 12).
The Set Aside Ones
You see, to be a holy one, a saint, means you have been set aside by God for a special purpose. Faith in Christ guarantees this position and allows you to be called a saint. While you don’t earn this station, you should be encouraged to respond to such an honor by a lifetime of loving, loyal service to Him.
Now, you could describe a saint as one loyal to the Master. Isn’t that interesting? That’s exactly the Old West definition—a cowboy on the trail or anywhere else who’s loyal to the ranch brand.
Jesus also entrusts His followers to be worthy of that title. And how many of you recall the old, familiar hymn, “When the Saints Go Marching In”? That’s all of us in that number.
Stephen Bly
Circa 1996
Livestock Branding Sign Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay
Guardian Angel Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
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WESTERN WISDOM “Old West Cowboy Saints” audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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Hmmmm…this opens my eyes to thinking about us being saints. I truely have never thought that before!