Legacy
It’s a word that I am seeing a lot today as we celebrate the life of Rev. Billy Graham as he has completed his earthly life and is now living in the presence of Jesus. Social media is flooded with photos, videos and quotes that share of his deep devotion for the gospel of Jesus Christ being taken to the masses. I kept seeing posts about his crusades and his movies and the great man of God that he was and the example that he was to our nation. But one post that I read from a facebook friend this morning stuck out to me: “Let us pray God raised up someone to fill his calling.” Now, I recognize that this friend was likely referring to Rev. Graham’s calling to be a mighty warrior of an evangelist but the comment didn’t quite sit well with my spirit because I’m afraid that it’s a question that is lurking in the hearts of many.
The truth is, God has already raised up someone to fill his calling. The calling on Billy Graham’s life is the same as the calling that God has given to each of us who claims Christ as Savior. The question is: are we walking in the calling that we have received? Billy Graham recognized the calling that God had placed on his life as someone saved by the blood of the lamb. He recognized the weight of sin and he recognized the weight of redemption. He recognized that his time on earth was limited and that he must use his time on earth to proclaim freedom to the captives. And the same is true for us, we have no time to wait. The time is now.
I have the honor of serving on a college campus with a campus ministry where I get to see students stepping out and sharing Jesus boldly with their classmates and their professors. I get to see them step out on faith and commit their breaks from school to travel to geographical areas deemed “unsafe” by society for the sake of the gospel. I get to see students who came into college with plans set for them by worldly standards, and even their parents agendas, boldly changing course to pursue the direction that God is leading them. God is raising up an entire generation to fulfill the same calling that was lived out by our beloved Billy Graham. But that calling isn’t simply for these young adults who are rising up to take their place. It’s for all of us who have put our faith in Jesus. And we can’t waste any more time in our “busyness” to keep from sharing this message of truth and freedom that is available through the cross of Jesus Christ.
You may never preach the gospel to thousands of people in an arena and you may never be on staff at a church but your calling remains the same. I challenge you today to look at the earthly life lived by Billy Graham and ask yourself how God is calling you to walk in light of that same calling? How can you share the love of Christ and the gospel message of Christ to those you encounter on a daily basis?
I know school teachers who arrive early to their classrooms in order to pray for each child that enters their classroom by name. I know nurses who are constantly being invited into spiritual conversations by their patients and who take the time to share Jesus and to pray for them. The family owned flower shop where I grew up was always a place of refuge for patrons to pull up a chair and sit and talk for hours with my mom and grandmother and they always left with their shoulders feeling a little lighter. I have worked in the corporate world with brothers and sisters who have the joy of Christ spilling out of them onto every person they encounter. God has placed his people in strategic places for the sake of the gospel but it’s up to us to be obedient to walking in the calling we have received and to be an encouragement to those in our churches and in our homes as they set out to live out our calling as well.
One of the many posts I read this morning was an excerpt from a conversation between Kathie Lee and Megyn Kelly about Kathie Lee’s relationship with Billy Graham and the impact that he made on her life. Read and watch the interview here.
Dancing in Freedom 