It probably will not have escaped any readers of this that Billy Graham last week went from life to life or, as we say in The Salvation Army was promoted to Glory. Many have written tributes to this great man of God and I have no intention of adding to this. Actually, I have never heard Billy Graham speak nor read any of his books, and yet he has for me always been the almost ultimate symbol of a Christian with such a high level of integrity that even the world had to acknowledge it.
One reaction differed from all the others I read. In an opinion piece in The Guardian Matthew Avery Sutton writes
“WhenBilly Grahamstands before the judgment seat of God, he may finally realize how badly he failed his country, and perhaps his God. On civil rights and the environmental crisis, the most important issues of his lifetime, he championed the wrong policies.”
And he continues his opening of his piece with stating that “Billy Graham was on the wrong side of history.”
Reading through the piece I think it would be fair to say that the writer’s opinion is based not so much on what Billy Graham did, or did not do, but that he did not fit in to the agenda of Matthew Sutton. There is little doubt that racial tension and global warming are very important issues, which also can, and should, be addressed from a Christian perspective. I do wonder, however, that if Billy Graham had spoken and written extensively on these matters, but never stressing personal salvation and holiness, whether Matthew Sutton would have questioned this?
This made me think of the danger of judging Christian leaders on what they do not say or do, rather on what they do say and do. Billy Graham was convinced, I am sure, that his call was to present the gospel of Jesus Christ and lead people to accept Jesus as Lord and live in obedience to him. He pursued this calling to the extent that he ‘kept quiet’ and probably away from many other important issues. It does not necessarily mean he had not opinions about other issues, nor that he believed they were not important also from a Christian point of view – only that he was focussed on what his calling was and probably saw the danger that, if he involved himself in other issues, would lose, or at least diminish his evangelistic impact and authority.
Maybe he did not march with Martin Luther King, but he did refuse to segregate the crowds in his crusades back in the fifties. Neither did Graham, as far as I know, publicly ever question Luther King’s evangelistic commitment, nor address what to him almost certainly was the questionable sexual morality of Luther King. He did not see that as his calling, but probably millions of people either are in or on their way to heaven due to his ministry. And millions upon millions of people of all races live in a different world due to the ministry of Luther King, who was as focussed and committed to his calling, as Graham was to his.
No one can be all things to all people, and we serve our Lord better by being focussed and committed to what he is calling us to do and be, rather than being diverted to what others might see as an important agenda. Even if it is important, it does not mean it is right or necessary, for us to get involved, as we otherwise might find ourselves ‘beating in the air’ and ‘running aimlessly’ (1. Cor. 9:26).
We serve Jesus best by discerning ‘what is best’ (Phil. 1:10), by being 100% committed and focussed on what he is calling us to do, and then bless those that have another agenda (or calling) rather than questioning why they are not following ours. Let us focus not on what other do not say or do, but what they do say and do and, when it is according to the plan and purpose of Christ, bless them.
We are all just single members of the body of Christ, but when each part plays his part, according to their calling, then the whole body is built up and God’s kingdom manifested and extended in this world. If the ear tries to function as a mouth, or a foot as a finger, Jesus is not glorified, nor will his Kingdom be manifested.
I am grateful to Matthew Sutton for making me think and realise that what I should do is to once again commit to what it is Jesus has called me to invest my life in. I will focus on that calling and not be diverted to other (good) causes, which is not part of my calling. And at the same time, I should stop judging others just because they do not live according to my calling, but bless them, as they respond to their calling, and rejoice that as we join together, we can be a mighty Army fighting for the King and his kingdom.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/21/billy-graham-wrong-side-history?
I am aware that Paul says he has ‘become all things to all people’, but that was exactly so he ‘might save some’ – focussed on his calling