God draws the most beautiful circles.
Last night we had the honor of publicly dedicating Billy Graham’s great great grandson to the Lord. This baby’s mother prayed, “Lord, You give me a son, and I’ll give him back to You.”
“O love that will not let me go,
I cast my weary soul on thee.
I give thee back the life I owe…”
This prayer of utter selflessness carries unimaginable consecration and devotion to the purposes of the Lord. What a beautiful testament to the legacy of a man and his family who lived out, “My home is in heaven. I’m just passing through this world.”
This morning we got word that Rev. Billy Graham went to his heavenly home. One of the most godly men that has ever walked the earth. A man whose life was fully dedicated to Kingdom work.
I can’t help but thinking, what a beautiful tribute it is to raise a family that is generationally dedicated to serving the Lord.
“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.” ~Rev. Billy Graham
Dr. Graham also said, “God never takes away something from your life without replacing it with something better.” While I am sad for the family’s loss, I have to believe that as I was looking into that little face during baby dedication last night, God was reminding us of His faithfulness – to raise up new leaders in every generation to ensure that His Word will continue to go forward, reaching all generations.
Billy’s oldest grandson, Stephan, is my best friend and his granddaughters are good friends to my girls—we grieve with the family for their loss. Over the years, I have witnessed firsthand that the DNA and values of Rev. Graham and his family are consummate in one prevailing and persistent principle—that Jesus Christ and His salvific truth are the hope of the world.
Rev. Billy Graham will be remembered for his evangelistic outreaches throughout the 20th century. I respect his innovative methods: when he outgrew tents, he began filling stadiums; when he couldn’t preach in person, he broadcast God’s Word on televisions and radios around the globe. Despite his changing methods, he never wavered in his tenacity to elevate the imperative of evangelism and show that Jesus Christ came to save us from a life of sin.
Rev. Graham’s passing ought to be exactly that: a passing of the torch from one generation to the next. That’s what last night’s baby dedication was and will always be in my mind…an authentic representation of his family’s incredible legacy and a passing of the torch to a generation that has barely begun it’s life here on earth.
[Tweet “Billy Graham’s life, legacy & family’s friendship have impacted my life & ministry.”]I am thankful for Rev. Billy Graham’s life, his legacy, and family’s friendship, but most of all for his audacious proclamation of the message of hope, that if anyone will simply:
“Pray to Him for forgiveness and, by faith, receive Jesus Christ into your life. Then you will have assurance that your name has been written in the Book of Life, which God Himself will open and read someday. Nothing will bring us greater joy than hearing the Savior call our names.” ― Billy Graham, The Heaven Answer Book
The Savior has called your name, Dr. Graham. And those of us still on earth affirm with our Lord, “Well done.”
[Tweet “Thankful for Billy Graham’s audacious example of proclaiming the Gospel.”]
