Robert Llewelyn said in his book, “Joy of the Saints”, “To the saints belongs the awareness that the depths of God’s compassion and mercy is beyond our human capacity to understand.” He goes on to say, “The primary concern of the saints is with fruit”, and as St Paul says in his Letter to the Galatians, “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” These are qualities we can aspire to and can be helpful in assessing the nature of those with spiritual authority.
All religions have their saints, people whose wisdom and life reflects enlightened wisdom, an inspiration to people across the centuries. Included are representatives of numerous faiths: Christian, Hindu, Moslem, Jewish, and Buddhist. Perhaps the greatest fruit of all is Love which binds everything together in perfect harmony and is the source of transformation.
Inspirational people include those whose life and work have offered the world new insights, be that in science, leadership, religion, the arts or music.