Billy Graham, 1918-2018

Two tributes to Billy Graham appear in the March 5, 2018 issue of The Weekly Standard. 

One, written by Matt Labash, zeros in on the inspiring credibility of Mr. Billy Graham--a man who accomplished the rare feat of finishing strong. 

Labash writes,

"After a day or so of marinating in his obituaries, it occurred to me that the thing I appreciated most about Billy Graham was that he didn't require you to think about Billy Graham. Unlike so many self-aggrandizing televangelists, Moral Majority grifters, and preachers-cum-ward-heelers, he left no hookers or no-tell-motel church secretaries or embezzled funds in his wake."

"He was as reliable as the sunrise, as steady as a metronome."

The other tribute, written by Barton Swaim, goes on to say,

"His whole persona projected sincerity. For six decades, Graham lay under the scrutiny of a skeptical media--as early as 1957 the liberal Christian Century magazine hired an investigative reporter to find evidence of financial or other improprieties--but he was never credibly accused of either personal or financial misconduct."

Ecclesiastes 7:8 states,

"Better is the end of a thing than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit." 

This epitomizes the life of Billy Graham: not that his death is better than his birth, but that his life, from beginning to end, was a life of humble patience in spirit that, while not perfect, maintained the steadfast priority of a clear conscience before God and thus, before men. 

In that, he bore the fruit of his convictions, not counting his life of any value nor as precious to himself, but only that he would finish his course and the ministry he received from the Lord Jesus "to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

And that he did. As Barton Swaim says in his article on Graham, 

"American society has often been shaped and bettered by men who knew just one truth and who expressed it well. Billy Graham was such a man."

And the thing that gets my respect is that he lived it well, to the very end. 



"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." James 1:12