"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." (Psalm
116:15)
It was reported this morning that Ruth Bell Graham, 87, wife of Evangelist
Billy Graham, died yesterday at 5:05 p.m. Her family was at her North Carolina
bedside.
Her obituary lists her as "wife of famous evangelist" but she was really so
much more than that. It may be hard for some people to understand, but for
many "born again Christians" she was sort of our "first lady". I know that a lot
of people just don't get what it means to be an "evangelical Christian" or a
"born again Christian" even though it's been explained in books and magazines
a thousand times. An evangelical Christian is one who believes it's not
enough to merely attend church or to have been baptized as a baby. An evangelical
Christian believes that (when you are old enough to understand what you are
doing) you need to make a conscious, personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior. There is no one "evangelical Christian" denomination, and that
causes some of the confusion. Many evangelical Christians are Baptists and
Pentecostals (including Assemblies of God). Many are Presbyterians. Some belong
to the Evangelical Free Church. In addition, there are "born again
Christians" found in almost every Protestant denomination and probably 5-10% of
American Roman Catholics consider themselves evangelicals.
For evangelicals of the late Twentieth Century, Billy Graham was our leader
and shining example, and his wife was First Lady. She was NO "barefoot and
pregnant" type just taking orders from Billy Graham! In fact, Ruth Graham, an
accomplished author and speaker in her own right, was quite feisty! On of Billy
Graham's biographers (in writing about how DIFFERENT Billy and Ruth were)
tells the story of a time Ruth Graham was stopped by a southern cop for speeding.
As he wrote the ticket, she urged him to hurry as she had to get going!
Once she got the ticket, she sped off! Ruth was much more bold and adventuresome
than was her husband. She was raised in the far east by missionary parents.
Ruth belonged to the very conservative A.R.E. Presbyterian Church. (Off hand
I can't think of what A.R.E. stands for!) Although Billy Graham was an
ordained Southern Baptist minister, Ruth would never "take the plunge" (pun
intended) to become a Baptist. All of the Graham kids were raised in the small
A.R.E. Presbyterian Church near their home in rural western North Carolina.
Billy and Ruth Graham are heroes to me. They lived virtually their whole
lives for Jesus Christ. Ruth leaves quite a legacy.
When "great saints" like this pass away, I always ask the same question: WHO
WILL TAKE THEIR PLACE?
116:15)
It was reported this morning that Ruth Bell Graham, 87, wife of Evangelist
Billy Graham, died yesterday at 5:05 p.m. Her family was at her North Carolina
bedside.
Her obituary lists her as "wife of famous evangelist" but she was really so
much more than that. It may be hard for some people to understand, but for
many "born again Christians" she was sort of our "first lady". I know that a lot
of people just don't get what it means to be an "evangelical Christian" or a
"born again Christian" even though it's been explained in books and magazines
a thousand times. An evangelical Christian is one who believes it's not
enough to merely attend church or to have been baptized as a baby. An evangelical
Christian believes that (when you are old enough to understand what you are
doing) you need to make a conscious, personal commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior. There is no one "evangelical Christian" denomination, and that
causes some of the confusion. Many evangelical Christians are Baptists and
Pentecostals (including Assemblies of God). Many are Presbyterians. Some belong
to the Evangelical Free Church. In addition, there are "born again
Christians" found in almost every Protestant denomination and probably 5-10% of
American Roman Catholics consider themselves evangelicals.
For evangelicals of the late Twentieth Century, Billy Graham was our leader
and shining example, and his wife was First Lady. She was NO "barefoot and
pregnant" type just taking orders from Billy Graham! In fact, Ruth Graham, an
accomplished author and speaker in her own right, was quite feisty! On of Billy
Graham's biographers (in writing about how DIFFERENT Billy and Ruth were)
tells the story of a time Ruth Graham was stopped by a southern cop for speeding.
As he wrote the ticket, she urged him to hurry as she had to get going!
Once she got the ticket, she sped off! Ruth was much more bold and adventuresome
than was her husband. She was raised in the far east by missionary parents.
Ruth belonged to the very conservative A.R.E. Presbyterian Church. (Off hand
I can't think of what A.R.E. stands for!) Although Billy Graham was an
ordained Southern Baptist minister, Ruth would never "take the plunge" (pun
intended) to become a Baptist. All of the Graham kids were raised in the small
A.R.E. Presbyterian Church near their home in rural western North Carolina.
Billy and Ruth Graham are heroes to me. They lived virtually their whole
lives for Jesus Christ. Ruth leaves quite a legacy.
When "great saints" like this pass away, I always ask the same question: WHO
WILL TAKE THEIR PLACE?
No comments:
Post a Comment