Second Thoughts ~ A Loss Extraordinary

Greetings Dear Reader,

Sometimes I will end the day with thoughts that are important to get out.  Usually I just write them and put them in my journal folder.  I have chosen that on occasion I will share them with you, Dear Reader.

William Franklin Graham Jr. KBE (Knight Commander of the British Empire), known as Billy Graham, passed away today.  In my fifty plus years of knowing who Billy Graham is I have only heart two people say anything bad about this man.  Both of them had trouble with anyone who loves Jesus. 

I am impressed with his attitudes about civil rights.  In the fifties he was already forbidding segregation at his rallies, installing African American ministers as leaders on his council, and advising the SCLC.  He had a very close friendship with Dr. King and did much to speak against segregation in support of the Civil Rights Movement.  In the 1960’s he and Dr. King held many joint campaigns.

He advised presidents and in 1983 was awarded the American Medal of Freedom.  He even held many conversations with Queen Elizabeth II.  The later resulted in his knighthood in 2001 for his contributions to the world. 

The loss for me is this:  There are so very few men who have a high-profile ministry who do not succumb to power, greed, or their own desires.   Here, however, is a man who never met privately with any woman other than his spouse.  He did not dwell on money.  He did not seek power.  The loss is a voice of reasonable faith in the midst of a sea of controversy and excesses.

I cannot fill this gap.  I cannot compensate for this loss.  Someone can.  It will take what Billy Graham exemplified.  It will take humility and faith untouched by human weakness.  He would be the first to say that he is not better than any of us.  He would give all the credit to Jesus. 

I do my bit to try and represent Jesus through my life and my writing.  I do not have what it takes to command the world stage as Billy Graham did.  Someone does  Perhaps the best way to honor him would be to live our faith consistently in the corner of the world we do have.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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