The Nation's Pastor

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"That the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored."
2 Thessalonians 3:1

That Bible verse was the keynote verse for the dedication ceremony of The Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 31st of this year. That dedication ceremony was highlighted in a recent Decision Magazine with the cover a picture of three presidents bowing in prayer seated on a podium beside Billy Graham. Journalists arrived thinking they were going to report on a tribute to a man but instead the celebration was designed, like the Library itself, to glorify God and to proclaim the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

This past week Mom and I had the priviledge of visiting Billy Graham's Library. Never have I been more inspired by a library/museum anywhere in the world. Upon entering we were given a brochure with the follow sentences: "Every aspect of the Billy Graham Library is designed foremost to honor Jesus Christ and the message of the Gospel, which Billy Graham has dedicated his life to preaching. From the towering 40-foot cross at the entryway, to the Scripture passages emblazoned on the wooden structural beams, it is our hope that you will see beyond the man and be touched by the message of God's love."

As we walked through the various rooms and listened to a number of fascinating presentations I was filled with a sense of being in the presence of a remarkable and extremely humble man; a man totally sold out to God, willing to do whatever it took to herald the name of Jesus around the globe. God used a willing farm boy to change the face of true evangelism. Billy went where others could not go-behind the iron curtain, into communist countries, through palace doors, on the fields of war-torn nations always with the same message of hope through Jesus Christ. His life's journey has caused me to reflect on the question: "How is my life's journey being used by God to draw others to Jesus?"
Maybe it is a question we should all ask of ourselves!

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