Jesus made the point
that, excluding himself, no greater person had lived than John the
Baptist. No one.
Along that same line
of thinking, yesterday I asked this question on Twitter:
Did we just see the
death of the greatest person to live in our lifetimes?
And the answer:
Don’t know. Only God knows that. But it certainly appears possible.
Makes us feel empty,
doesn’t it.
Makes us feel even
more alone and out there.
Makes us feel less
secure.
I really hate it
when persons I care so much about die.
Close family members of course.
But I am talking here about those persons who so influence our life
positively but whom we may not really know personally. Once they are gone, they are gone. They are no longer with us here. And we believers must soldier on.
Billy Graham would
of course make the point that we are where we always were, in the hands of a
loving and all powerful God. His leaving
hasn’t changed that.
Nope. We still have God. We still have Jesus. We still have the Holy Spirit.
Most on the earth
don’t have or know that. So they are
really out there alone. You aren’t.
I am a bit
surprised, I admit. He had said some
time ago that he was surprised to find himself alive with all his
contemporaries gone. And he had remarked
that he thought, or wondered, if God were leaving him to be here when the Lord
comes in the rapture.
Well, he almost made
it. I wonder why God took him home
now. Interesting. So close to the return. Maybe to have a big celebration for Billy
alone, not mixed up with all the other saints when they come home at that
time. Maybe.
I saw yesterday
Franklin quoting some of his father’s remarks: “You’re not saved by joining a
church. You’re not saved by living a
good moral life. You’re saved only
because of the grace of God in Christ.” Sounds familiar, much like what I am
always writing, like what any true believer knows. It is all about a one on one relationship
with God. It is you and God, not you and
anyone else and God. You know that. So many of those around you don’t know that.
I always liked the
fact that Billy was from North Carolina, where I was born, and that he liked
baseball. I do too.
Another quote from
Billy: “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t believe a word of it. I shall be more alive that I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.”
Really, really
special.
Well, enough
said. He is home now. We aren’t.
We are still here, aliens in a difficult environment, living and working
as ambassadors for God. Still work to
do.
Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!
(FEBRUARY 2018)
Copyright © 2018 by John
Newlin
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