Yesterday, one of the most influential men to the Christian faith went home to be with the Lord. You might live under a rock if you didn’t hear the news of Billy Graham’s passing. Social media was filled with his quotes yesterday, which to be honest, was a nice change of pace from the usual. There’s no doubt that Mr. Graham heard the words, “Well done My good and faithful servant” as he entered the presence of his Savior yesterday.
My mom, too, heard those words about five and a half years ago, and while the calling the Lord had on her life looked much different than Billy Graham’s, she still finished her race well.
Those words kept running through my mind yesterday, “Well done My good and faithful servant”. To know that we Christ followers will have the opportunity to hear those words at the end of our lives is absolutely humbling. But in the mean time, from now until we hear those words, we must fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). We must faithfully live out the calling that God has on our lives.
But I’m afraid that some of us don’t live out our calling because we feel that it isn’t “big”. We don’t live it out because we feel like it isn’t of value. Or maybe we live it out, but we live it out with discontentment or while comparing ourselves with others. But the truth is, The Lord calls some of us to big stages to preach crusades to millions, while He calls some of us to simply cook a meal for a new mother. The Lord calls some of us to teach Sunday school to high school students, while He calls others of us to rock babies in the nursery. The Lord calls some of us to travel overseas for missions, while He calls others to give of their finances to make a way for others to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. And the truth is also this- ALL of it is valuable in the Kingdom.
You see, I think that social media has planted in us a thought that if it can’t be seen by the world, then it isn’t worth doing. And that could be the farthest thing from the truth. Because God sometimes calls us to do things in the secret. There are probably so many unseen things that Billy Graham did in his life that he would probably tell you were just as “big” for God as his crusades were. Some days, our faithful service to the Lord will be unseen by most. Faithful service to the Lord will look like cooking a chicken pot pie for your family, speaking a kind word to a friend, or sharing your notes with a sick classmate. And friends, that’s a beautiful thing. Because we have to remember, we don’t serve to receive applause from the world. We serve because Jesus first served us with His death on the cross. And as tough as it can be at times to feel unseen, we have to remember that we serve the Audience of One, the God who sees.
When you became a Christian, the Spirit equipped you with unique gifts. You have something unique that you can bring to the Church, and as we’re told in Scripture, the pinky toe is just as important as the arm when it comes to the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-30). The Lord equipped Billy Graham to speak the Gospel to millions. He equipped my mom to speak the Gospel to teenagers every Sunday. Both were important to the Kingdom. What has He equipped you to do? Let’s stop comparing our calling to someone else’s. Let’s put off the lie that we should only do things for God if they can be seen by the world. Let’s just simply start loving our neighbor, right where God has us.
Billy Graham is now at Home with the Lord, and we need more Billy Grahams in this world. We need more people who will dedicate their lives to boldly proclaiming the Gospel, whether that means you’re sharing it to people in your living room, or you’re sharing it from a stage. We need more people okay with doing the unseen for the glory of God. We need more people who live their lives humbly in submission to the Father, seeking His glory and not their own. We need more people who live their life knowing that we are just exiles and that we won’t truly be Home until we are with our Savior.
When I think about my mom, I think about how she finished her race well. Billy Graham did too. Them and so many others lived their lives for the glory of God until their last breath. Oh, how I want this to be true of me! We don’t know when our race will end, so in the mean time, race well. Race well by reaching out to the new kid at school. Race well by using your social media to uplift. Race well by being a prayer warrior. Race well by being intentional with your children. Whatever season God has you in, however He has equipped you, be faithful to race well. He sees you; You are valuable in His kingdom.
May it be that when our days are over we, like Paul, can say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7, ESV).
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