"Guest" is what my badge reads.
"Discover the Journey of a Lifetime" is what the visitor’s guide reads.
This is no ordinary visit. This is no ordinary place. From the moment I was driven on to the lush green grounds which house the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Billy Graham Library, I knew it would be an extraordinary day.
The day started with the incredible opportunity to sit in on the daily BGEA staff devotions. I heard about of lives being touched on the other side of the world. There were many somber moments like when BGEA representatives who just returned from China shared about what they’d seen--parents who had lost their children to the earthquake’s devastation at a elementary school and spent hours walking around the school yard with tears streaming down their faces, crying in agony and clutching children’s toys.
The all too poignant reminder that there are many in the world who need to know the hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Many who need to learn about the peace which only He is able to provide to a parent grieving the loss of a little child. With the pictures of the 747 being loaded with supplies to the earthquake victims still in my mind, we gathered into small groups to pray for those affected and for those who God would use to share His hope and peace.
Touring the BGEA headquarters, I learned more about how God is using the ministry to impact lives—from the pictures on the walls of individuals hearing the Gospel at Crusades, on TV and on the radio. I see the Response Center where letters are opened and prayer requests are lifted up to the Lord. I see where the phones are answered and I’m told that upon leading a caller to Christ, operators rejoice by ringing a little bell—moments when indeed, It is a Wonderful Life!
The focus of the Billy Graham Library is the same--lives being transformed by the Gospel. As you enter thought the foot of the cross, the library depicts life changes. There are guns on display that were placed by gang members at the altar of a Crusade, there are fragments from the Berlin Wall representing the symbolic tearing down of the wall and the outpouring of His hope and love in a land previously imprisoned by darkness and there is a crown of thorns from Jerusalem which had been given to Mrs. Graham and which rested on her night table until she joined her Lord and Savior last year. The crown sits a top of a cross in the library representing the ultimate sacrifice.
Most of us will not be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, we won’t be called upon to provide counsel to Presidents nor will we have the privilege of sharing the Gospel with millions around the world. We will most likely have ordinary days and ordinary lives.
Yet after visiting BGEA, I’m both humbled and challenged . . . we don’t have to settle for wearing a “Guest” badge in a life of service to God.
We can prayerfully seek opportunities to represent Him to others in our daily lives, to serve others on His behalf and to instead, wear badges which read “Worker”— For the Kingdom.
"Discover the Journey of a Lifetime" is what the visitor’s guide reads.
This is no ordinary visit. This is no ordinary place. From the moment I was driven on to the lush green grounds which house the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Billy Graham Library, I knew it would be an extraordinary day.
The day started with the incredible opportunity to sit in on the daily BGEA staff devotions. I heard about of lives being touched on the other side of the world. There were many somber moments like when BGEA representatives who just returned from China shared about what they’d seen--parents who had lost their children to the earthquake’s devastation at a elementary school and spent hours walking around the school yard with tears streaming down their faces, crying in agony and clutching children’s toys.
The all too poignant reminder that there are many in the world who need to know the hope that can only be found in Jesus Christ. Many who need to learn about the peace which only He is able to provide to a parent grieving the loss of a little child. With the pictures of the 747 being loaded with supplies to the earthquake victims still in my mind, we gathered into small groups to pray for those affected and for those who God would use to share His hope and peace.
Touring the BGEA headquarters, I learned more about how God is using the ministry to impact lives—from the pictures on the walls of individuals hearing the Gospel at Crusades, on TV and on the radio. I see the Response Center where letters are opened and prayer requests are lifted up to the Lord. I see where the phones are answered and I’m told that upon leading a caller to Christ, operators rejoice by ringing a little bell—moments when indeed, It is a Wonderful Life!
The focus of the Billy Graham Library is the same--lives being transformed by the Gospel. As you enter thought the foot of the cross, the library depicts life changes. There are guns on display that were placed by gang members at the altar of a Crusade, there are fragments from the Berlin Wall representing the symbolic tearing down of the wall and the outpouring of His hope and love in a land previously imprisoned by darkness and there is a crown of thorns from Jerusalem which had been given to Mrs. Graham and which rested on her night table until she joined her Lord and Savior last year. The crown sits a top of a cross in the library representing the ultimate sacrifice.
Most of us will not be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, we won’t be called upon to provide counsel to Presidents nor will we have the privilege of sharing the Gospel with millions around the world. We will most likely have ordinary days and ordinary lives.
Yet after visiting BGEA, I’m both humbled and challenged . . . we don’t have to settle for wearing a “Guest” badge in a life of service to God.
We can prayerfully seek opportunities to represent Him to others in our daily lives, to serve others on His behalf and to instead, wear badges which read “Worker”— For the Kingdom.
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