For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2, NIV)
Billy Graham was a golfer who is said to have often recorded rounds in the 70s. That’s good enough for me. More telling, the revered evangelist, who passed away last week at the age of 99, was noted to have said, “The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course.” Now that’s a man who understands what golfers go through!
When the news of Rev. Graham’s death started to surface, it came with a lot of glowing commentary. Like every man, neither his life nor his theology was perfect. But he was humble and he has left an important legacy to anyone who teaches the Word of God—keep it simple and stick to the message.
In his book The Journey, Rev. Graham made a plea he had often spoken: “…I urge you to turn to Christ and by faith invite Him to come into your life today. No matter who you are or what your background has been, God still loves you, and Christ died and rose again so you could be on a new path in life—His path.”
This is what I mean by simple. It’s easy to get caught up in theological arguments of all sorts. We can get distracted by the politics in our church. We might even place great emphasis on being the spouse or parent God wants us to be. But ahead of all that, we must go to Jesus. We must see what he has done for us and respond in faith.
It can be easy to think that we’ve been there and done that. It’s time, we tell ourselves, to move on to the next steps of mature faith. I get that.
But look at how the The New York Times described Billy Graham’s work in their obituary: “Mr. Graham drew his essential message from the mainstream of evangelical Protestant belief. Repent of your sins, he told his listeners, accept Jesus as your Savior and be born again. In a typical exhortation, he declared: “Are you frustrated, bewildered, dejected, breaking under the strains of life? Then listen for a moment to me: Say yes to the Savior tonight, and in a moment you will know such comfort as you have never known. It comes to you quickly, as swiftly as I snap my fingers, just like that.”
Jesus is right there, at the forefront of every step of faith, at the crossroads of every difficult day. Billy Graham never let it get more complicated than this. Come to think of it, this is yet another reason I can believe he knew his way around a golf course. The best golfers don’t get bogged down in details. They keep it simple and swing with ease. You know, I’m liking this Billy Graham guy more and more.
—
Bill Euler
February 27, 2018
Copyright 2018 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.