It’s with a sad heart that many of us take in the news of the death of one of the most prominent and powerful voices in the Christian Evangelical movement in modern history. The voice of this man may no longer be heard, but it certainly has not been silenced. 

Now before we get too far into this, it’s important to remember that Billy Graham was a real man. He was a human being just like all of us, which means he wasn’t perfect. He was flawed, but he too (like you and me) was forgiven. He wasn’t perfectly faithful but he was overcome by grace. He didn’t say and do everything exactly the right way all of the time but he knew something powerful and freeing that he just couldn’t keep silenced.

When the news of his death came to my attention this morning I was a bit bewildered. I didn’t know really what to think. I remember reading a quote some where by Billy Graham where he talked about his own death. It went something like it will be said one day that Billy Graham has died, but that’s just not true. He has gone on to find life with his Savior Jesus. Now I know that’s not the real quote but I just couldn’t dig it back up right now. He’s gone but he’s with Jesus.

The church lost a very loud and prominent voice today. It was a voice that proclaimed with conviction what we needed to hear. But in many cases the words he proclaimed weren’t his own. And that’s what made Graham so great. He was deemed America’s Pastor, and it was a fitting title. The man preached Jesus. He taught about loving our neighbors. He was a massive proponent of living our faith out loud and the church being passionate about the message of the cross of Christ.

As a pastor and as a follower of Jesus, the one thing that stands out to me about this man was his focus on legacy. It’s become a prominent word in my life the past several months. The powerful thing about legacy is it’s not about me. And that was Billy Graham’s focus as well. It wasn’t about him. It was about Jesus. His goal was to point people to Jesus. He wasn’t trying to build a Billy Graham following but a Jesus following.

We’ve become so short-sighted in our modern era of church. We focus on longevity by asking the question – How will we survive? Survival is great if we want to make something of and for ourselves. But our goal as followers of Jesus isn’t survival, it’s legacy. We’re here to leave a legacy. No, not a legacy of me and my accomplishments but a legacy of grace. We’re called to leave a legacy of men and women transformed by the power of God’s Spirit alive in our words, thoughts and actions. Legacy is about mission. It’s about living out the things that Jesus gave us in a way that shows the world around us that His Kingdom already is here.

I can’t bring about or stop God’s kingdom anymore than anyone can, but God calls us to show people how to live differently in light of this new kingdom reality. Billy Graham showed us what this kingdom looked like to an extent. He preached it. He prayed about it. He taught others to see it. No he wasn’t perfect, but he wanted people to see Jesus and to grow in His grace.

So what do we do with it? He’s gone. His voice is silent but still it screams. Some will be tempted to memorialize Billy Graham and praise him for his accomplishments. But that’s not why he did what he did. We don’t praise Graham, but we praise the One who gave him the words to speak. We listen for the truth that he taught…the very truth he received from God’s word. The church may have lost one voice but we haven’t lost the truth. The truth remains…Jesus is still King. The church still stands and God has still given her a task – proclaim Christ and him crucified. And love our neighbors well. It’s that simple. Love, serve, lift up and care for those around us in the name of Christ. That’s a legacy I’m willing to leave.