"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he who wins souls is wise." -- Proverbs 11:30
My pastor recently suggested I read biographies and autobiographies of well-known evangelists to learn more about how each was helped to gain Salvation. Naturally, the autobiography of Billy Graham made that list. His high-profile crusades were a worldwide staple for many years. Somehow I was not surprised to read that Dr. Graham was born again while attending crusade-like campaign meetings conducted by Dr. Mordecai Fowler Ham when Dr. Graham was 16.
Reading the humble words about Dr. Graham's beginnings in life and in his faith, I was drawn powerfully into the autobiography and wanted to read more. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this book is more than an autobiography, it's also a humble history of someone who represented Jesus to the un-Godly around the world, influenced many world leaders, and who founded a major organization to help save sinners. The more I read, the more I wanted to read.
I was particularly impressed by Dr. Graham's desire to avoid even the appearance of wrong-doing, from quite a young age. It was as though he knew from the beginning that he had to follow God's Word closely if he was to be of the most service to Him.
The book is also fascinating for seeing how service to the Lord drew people to Dr. Graham. Those who want to be more popular can learn an important lesson here: Let Jesus introduce you to the people He wants you to know.
Today, there is much interest in ecumenical activities. Unfortunately, many of those activities don't have much, if anything, to do with evangelism. That's a shame. I hope people who are interested in evangelism will read this book and draw from its many lessons for how to be of service in witnessing for the Lord.
May God bless you, your family, and all you do in the name of Jesus!
