Billy Graham passed yesterday at the age of 99. With the support of his beloved wife, Ruth, he ministered as an evangelist to countless thousands all around the world. While he’d be the first to admit he wasn’t perfect, he served God faithfully for more than 60+ years of active preaching that proclaimed the love of Jesus for each and every person.
“Just as I am…” Just as we are, needing God’s transforming love to mend our brokenness.
My Papa & Mama loved Billy Graham. Papa once had the opportunity to meet him through family friends in Va. Beach who were from Billy’s neck of the woods in North Carolina. Papa recounted that encounter many times and always espoused Billy Graham’s leadership, faithfulness and integrity.
What a life for a farm boy from the mountains of North Carolina! Crisscrossing continents with the message of the Cross of Christ, speaking to royalty and ne’er-do-wells from the streets with equal equanimity & esteem. Using (what was then new) media like television to make the love of Christ known to even larger audiences.
Billy Graham also counted among his myriad friends Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the first to bring the Gospel to television in 1940. (Papa was also a Fulton Sheen groupie – we watched his shows often on DVD.) When Archbishop Fulton Sheen died in 1979, Billy Graham was seated with Catholic dignitaries in the very front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral at his funeral mass in New York. (Altho he tried to sneak in the back of the church!)
He also met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, whereupon the Pope clasped his hand, “we are brothers!” (It’s interesting that they both suffered from Parkinson’s disease in their later years.)
How do you measure a life like Billy Graham’s? From his autobiography, Just As I Am, here’s his take on that in his own words:
“As I look back over the years, I know my deepest feeling is overwhelming gratitude. I cannot take credit for whatever God has chosen to accomplish through us and our ministry; only God deserves the glory, and we can never thank Him enough for the great things He has done.”
As the world mourns the loss of one of the greatest statesmen of Jesus Christ in the 20th Century, may we take to heart the message of Billy Graham’s life:
Jesus loves me – just as I am.
“I don’t know the future, but I know this: the best is yet to be! Heaven awaits us… I know that soon my life will be over. I thank God for it… but I look forward to Heaven. I look forward to reunion with friends and loved ones who have gone before. I look forward to Heaven’s freedom from sorrow and pain. I also look forward to serving God in ways we can’t begin to imagine, for the Bible makes it clear that Heaven is not a place of idleness. And, most of all, I look forward to seeing Christ and bowing before Him in praise and gratitude for all He has done for us, and for using me on this earth by His grace – just as I am.” (Billy Graham, Just As I Am, p. 730)
R.I.P. Billy Graham (07 November 1918- 21 February 2018)
grace, peace & faithfulness
Virginia
“You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in Thee.” Saint Augustine of Hippo
Roses in the Rubble 
A well-deserved post, Virginia. ❤ God bless Billy G. I was lucky to see him
LIVE in the Cotton Bowl in 1972, I believe. Our youth group made the long trip
on a bus. Coming from a small town, it was quite the education. Unforgettable…
He fervently came to believe in desegregation, leading by example in his open crusades in the 1950s South – not an easy thing to do as a farm boy from NC! But thru the ups (& downs) of His ministry, his humility still speaks volumes vs. some of today’s egomaniac mega-church preachers. 🌷🧐🌷
Thank you, Viginia for your words regaeding Billy Graham
There’s very few others like him, Carol-Jo. Yesterday I opened up his autobiography (saved from Mama’s bookshelf) to find a quote, but then got totally inspired reading about his life – in his humble words. He was big on keeping it simple: Jesus loves you! Hugs! 💜🤗💜
“Speaking to Royalty and ne’er-do-wells”. That phrase reminded me of a very close friend of mine who has passed on. His name was Johnny. As a young man Johnny had a lot of bad life experiences and at one time was a bona fide member of an L. A. gang. He told me in his later life, however, that he had always liked Billy Graham. That there was just something about him. Johnny was not even a church goer. For whatever reason this knowledge shocked me at the time. Anyhow, Johnny was the first person I thought of when I heard Billy Graham had died. Pastor Graham really was a huge presence.
What a precious story, Elva. Billy Graham reached across oceans of indifference to touch hearts with God’s love. His presence in our whacked out world will be missed. ✨🌟🙏🌟✨
a moving and powerful tribute..
Michele, he always thought of himself as ‘a simple farm boy from North Carolina’ even after he met with royalty, presidents, celebrities. His humility stands out as a testament of his faith. ✨🌟🙏🌟✨
He was and wore his sermon in his shoes, as well.