When I was
growing up, there was basically only 3 television stations - channel 4, 5, and 7. When a Billy Graham Crusade came on TV, it
would preempt whatever was on the station and, if we wanted to watch
television, that is what we watched.
Although I was
quite young and not Southern Baptist, I clearly remember sitting on the floor in our living room watching Billy Graham preach to stadiums filled to
overflow with enthusiastic people.
Sometimes the telecast came to my small living room from somewhere in
the United States. Other times I recall
it being from countries far way. I was
stirred both by this eloquent minister’s passion and his message. Whether Billy Graham was preaching in lofty
surroundings such as at Madison Square Gardens or in poor villages in Africa,
the theme of the Crusade resonated with my soul ~ God loves you.
He began his
unofficial ministry when he was 16. His
last crusade was in 2004. Never did his
message veer off this theme.
Evangelist Billy Graham preached in 184 countries. He also met with presidents, queens (any other Crown watchers out there?), country leaders from
all over the world, religious leaders, civil rights activists, actors and regular folk.
When asked a
while back if he had any regrets, this is what he had to say, “If I had to do
it over again, I’d spend more time in meditation and prayer telling the Lord
how much I love him.”
I believe this
giant of a man made the world a better place no matter your religion, race, or
creed simply by doing what he was called to do.
Many times he was asked to run for political office and urged to run for
President of the United States. He, of
course, never did. He was steadfast in
his conviction that he was called to be a minister of the Word of Jesus Christ
for the people of the world.
We may not have
the world as our pulpit but, just as surely as Billy Graham, we too are called
in some way to make the world a better place by sharing our unique gifts. All that is required from us is to discern our gifts and to respond to the invitation to share them with our “Yes”.
As we reflect
on the life of Billy Graham, we realize that we have been given a legend to show us how to keep saying “yes” to service throughout a lifetime.
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