As our friends joined Dave and me in our living room last Friday, March 2, to watch the funeral of Reverend Billy Graham, we cried, laughed, and prayed with the family and speakers. Each of Rev. Graham’s five children took the platform to share a memory of their father, and Franklin Graham gave the sermon, sharing the gospel and stories of his mother and father. Franklin offered everyone present, including millions watching, an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior if they didn’t already have assurance of someday being in heaven with Jesus, Billy Graham, and every believer who has “gone to sleep.”
At the funeral, each child spoke with eloquence, poise, and humor and took the podium in their birth order, except for Franklin who gave the message. Nelson “Ned” Graham is the youngest, so he followed Gigi, Anne, and Ruth. When it was his turn, he mentioned that they were each given fifteen minutes to speak, but since his siblings all took longer, he was going to make his short.
After a chuckle from the crowd, he said, “My father was fat.” I immediately thought, along with I’m sure everyone else, Billy Graham was not a fat man? Ned didn’t make us ponder long the point he was making. He quickly said, “My father was F-faithful, A-available, T-teachable. F.A.T.”
I quickly grabbed a pen and paper to write down this acrostic. This is how a son saw his famous father, deemed “America’s pastor.” What better legacy for every Christian.
F.A.T.
F-aithful. Every person I’ve heard speak about Billy Graham has shared of his faithfulness to serving God since he was a young schoolboy milking cows on his family farm.
- His faithfulness to preach the gospel only from the Word of God, the Bible.
- His faithfulness to his marriage and his undying love for his wife, Ruth.
- His faithfulness to his family.
- His faithfulness to reach all people groups.
- His faithfulness to live a life of integrity.
- His faithfulness to integration.
- His faithfulness to God until his last breath.
If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. Luke 16:10 NLT
Ah, that we would all be found faithful!
A-vailable. Billy Graham made himself available to follow the call of God to share the gospel wherever God led him.
- His availability to the Middle East. At the funeral, Pastor Sami Dagher, spoke of Rev. Graham’s influence on Christianity in the Middle East.
- His availability to Korea. South Korean pastor Billy Kim spoke of Rev. Graham mentoring him when his church had only 300 members. Today, that same church has 20,000 members. One of the words of advice Billy gave Pastor Kim was, “Never make your message about yourself; always make it about Jesus Christ.”
- His availability to the world. Billy Graham preached the gospel around the world, at great sacrifice of missing time with his family.
- His availability to America. So many stories shared of mothers and fathers saved at Billy Graham crusades and bringing Christianity into their homes. Even President Trump in his eulogy to Rev. Graham in the Capitol Rotunda spoke of his father taking his mother and him to the crusade in Yankee Stadium.
- His availability to American presidents. Presidents starting with Harry Truman knew him as their Pastor.
- His availability to go wherever God led him in the world for as long as he had strength.
And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned.” Mark 16:15-16 NLT
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8
Ah, that we would all be found available!
T-eachable. Everyone who knew Billy Graham, described him as a humble servant of the Lord.
When he was elderly and no longer able to physically preach, an interviewer asked Billy if he had any regrets. He replied that he wished he had taken less speaking engagements and spent more time studying his Bible and praying.
Hearing this, I thought, But Billy, think of all the lives who might not have had a chance to respond to the gospel if you hadn’t gone on those preaching trips! God called. You went at great personal sacrifice. Lives were saved for eternity, as the Holy spirit spoke through you, God’s willing servant.
[Tweet “The Reverend Billy Graham was continuously a student of the Bible, always learning from God and His Word.”]
The Reverend Billy Graham was continuously a student of the Bible, always learning from God and His Word. Never thinking he knew enough, had read enough, had prayed enough, had shared enough . . . God’s Word was new every morning, even to America’s Pastor.
The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him! Lamentations 3:22-24 NLT
As the Graham children greeted funeral attenders, one person said to Anne Graham Lotz that he was now an evangelist pastor thanks to the teachings of her father. Anne said to him, “Preach it fast.” She was conveying, the time is short. Jesus will return in the blink of an eye, and all who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be lost for eternity. May we all let our lives convey that same urgency for salvation of the lost.
[Tweet “The time is short. Jesus will return in the blink of an eye, and all who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be lost for eternity.”]
Ah, that we would all have a teachable spirit!
At the internment ceremony, one speaker quoted Rev. Graham as saying “God forbid that anything about my life should be about anything besides Jesus Christ.” The speaker went on to say, “You can’t explain Billy Graham outside of Jesus. He had a complete submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Out of this spirit of humility, God poured out His grace on Billy Graham.”
In his eulogy, Franklin Graham said that his father had one last sermon he wanted to preach based on Galatians 6:14: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
We’ll have to wait until heaven to hear Pastor Billy Graham preach that sermon, but until then, may we . . . every Christian . . . be ambassadors for Christ and let our lives be a sermon.
So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 2 Cor. 5:10
If you haven’t read last week’s blog, I would encourage you to read it now. Billy Graham, My Mentor
If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.
Pictures are courtesy of The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
Thank you so much. The youngest Graham’s words were so brief that I couldn’t recall what F.A.T. stood for afterwards. You described it fully and beautifully. May all the glory be to God.
Yes, he did say it fast, but fortunately I had pen in hand! His words were few but mighty, and yes, to God be the glory that we would all be found faithful, available, and teachable! A life well lived as a servant of the Almighty.