Billy Graham's Legacy

I was not born in America but I grew up listening to the evangelist Billy Graham every Sunday. My mother would serve lunch at the exact time that "The Hour of Decision" weekly broadcast came over the radio, and we would all have lunch while listening to the evangelist. Even though I was too young to understand his message, his earnest voice struck a chord in my young heart that would impact my life for years to come.

As I grew older, watched his crusades on television and read about his life, I became convinced that Billy Graham was sent by God to draw people to Christ. How else could he have preached to over 200 million people all over the world and have them respond in the way they did? He never danced and pranced on stage, he didn't promise miracles, all he did was preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in a clear and simple way and invite people to "Come." And they left their seats in droves and went up to the altar to have their lives transformed by the powerful gospel message. Such was the charisma of this great man.

I chose to write about Billy Graham today, not because he passed away a few days ago, but because this is Black History month and even though Dr. Graham was not black, his influence extended to the black community as well. While he has been criticized for not taking a strong stand on racial issues and for not marching with Dr. King, it is well documented that Billy Graham refused to preach to segregated audiences in the South and even removed the ropes himself that divided the people. I think to do that in a period of racial tension that existed in the fifties and sixties was nothing short of courageous. In one account about the relationship between Dr. King and Dr. Graham, it is said that Dr. King advised Graham to continue preaching to integrated audiences and he would continue to march. This, King believed, would pave the way for him to make inroads in the South. Some say this has not been authenticated.

Dubbed "Counselor to the Presidents," Billy Graham was well known for his meetings with every president since Harry Truman. Some of these meetings took place at the White House, others on the golf course and in other informal settings, but President Barack Obama was the first president to meet with the famed evangelist at his log cabin home in North Carolina.

Whatever stance, or lack of, Billy Graham may have taken on civil rights issues, one cannot deny the impact he had on evangelism and on the lives of millions. Our society and the world owe a huge debt of gratitude to this great man.

Thoughts And Prayers

Over the past few days you may have heard the above words used several times as our nation once more grapples with another massacre, one that took the lives of 17 innocent people - staff and students.

Thoughts and prayers sound nice and they are nice -- when that is all that can be done. But in many cases, it takes more than thoughts and prayers to fix a situation.

Jesus did more than think and pray when he was faced with 5000 hungry people in a deserted place far from Mc Donald's. (Matthew 14: 15 - 21)

He did more than think and pray when the sick was brought to him. (Matthew 4: 24)

And He did more than think and pray when his friend Lazarus died. (John 11: 43)

But, you say, these are miracles. Jesus was able to do them because He was God.

True. Jesus did what He could do to show us that we need to follow His example and do what we can do.

So, I repeat what I said above: Thoughts and prayers sound nice and they are nice -- when that is all that can be done. However, thoughts and prayers need to be backed up with action.

A hungry person needs food, a sick person needs medical care, a tired person needs rest, a homeless person needs shelter. And a society besieged by gun violence needs protection.

If all we can do is think and pray, let us pray for those in authority that God will touch their hearts so they will do what needs to be done to prevent this slaughter of innocent lives.

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