Billy Graham and Leaving a Legacy
By now, you have probably heard the news that Billy Graham went to be with the Lord this morning. Other than the apostle Paul, I was trying to think of anyone who has ever had a bigger impact for Christ and I’m coming up empty. You could perhaps argue for Augustine or Luther or Calvin, but these were theologians. They certainly changed the world and how we think about Christianity, but I doubt anyone ever brought more people to saving faith than Billy Graham.
As Christians, we don’t mourn his death, we celebrate his amazing life and the fact that he is with His Lord and Savior. He is with his beloved wife Ruth. He probably has a line of souls miles long waiting to thank him for his work in their salvation. That line may go on for years and years to come. My own daughter marks the Billy Graham crusade that we attended in New York City on June 24, 2005, as the time when she came to Christ, when she was only 5. How many more like her are out there? How many will those lead to Christ?
What an impact one man can have. We cannot all be Billy Grahams, but who knows whether the person we share Christ with will be the next Billy Graham? I was listening to a sermon recently and the preacher asked if anyone had ever heard of Edward Kimball. No one had. The preacher went on to tell the story:
Kimball was a Sunday School teacher and was determined to reach his class for Christ. One particular young man tended to fall asleep in class so Kimball went to see him at the shoe store where he worked. The young man’s name was D. L. Moody. Moody accepted Christ and became a famous preacher and evangelist. Moody guest preached in a little chapel pastored by a young man named F.B. Meyer. In his sermon Moody told a story about a Sunday School teacher who went to every student in his class and led each of them to Christ. Meyer was inspired to evangelism. Meyer later came to America and led a man named J. Wilbur Chapman to accept Christ. Chapman became one of the most effective evangelists of his time. Billy Sunday was a volunteer in his ministry and learned preaching from Chapman. Sunday eventually took over Chapman's ministry and was one of the most effective and dynamic preachers of the 1900’s. Thousands were converted through his evangelism.
After hearing Billy Sunday preach in Charlotte, NC, a group of Christians who attended the service set out to reach Charlotte for Christ. They invited an evangelist called Mordecai Ham to come and hold a series of evangelistic meetings in 1932. 16-year old Billy Graham was at one of those meetings and gave his life to Christ. Billy Graham has reached millions with the gospel and it can all be traced back to a humble Sunday school teacher named Edward Kimball. Don’t minimize the effect that one humble servant of the Lord can have. Our Lord is no doubt saying, “Well done my good and faithful servant to Billy Graham right now.” He will say the same to all His faithful children.
1 Cor. 15:55-57 says, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Death has no power over us. It has no power of Billy Graham. It is only a threshold to be crossed to hear the words we all long to hear from Jesus Himself, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.” While we wait for that day, let’s do our best to ensure that others will hear those words someday too. If we do, we will be part of a legacy that stretches down through the centuries until Christ returns.
