Happy Birthday Mr. Graham

If you were to ask anyone if they had heard the name Billy Graham, I would say that almost 95% would say yes and even more would recognize him as being "a preacher". To say that this man has made a mark on history and the world is an understatement. His biography is a list of who's who. The U.S. Postal Service has said that Billy Graham is one of the few Americans, along with the President, who will be delivered mail that simply reads his name and the country.

So what has kept him in the spotlight for almost 60 years? I think it is his faith and his burning desire to share the gospel. But not just that. He seems to be an average man, humble, honorable, consistent, faithful, strong. I have watched him several times on television when he has spoken (I have not had the privilege to hear him speak in person) and each time he strikes me as a most amazing man. Even through the tv I can feel the compassion, the calling. I hear in his voice such conviction, such warmth, such surety that coming and confessing my sins and opening my heart is the right thing and the only thing that I need to do.

He exudes charisma yet can not be characterized as a tv preacher. Even in the circles that he walks he still feels for the lowly, the people that other people forget about and that no-one needs to stay lost. When you hear him speak you feel like you can see the glory of God, you feel the love that only our Father and Saviour can give us. For all that and more, God will truly say "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Thank you Lord for showing your shining light through a man that reaches the lost, a man that has shown people your glory and your forgiveness. Happy Birthday Mr. Graham. May God bless you as you have blessed others.