A Turtle on a fence post

Billy Graham is 86 years old. He is frail, and sick, and still brilliant. I pulled this story off AOL news:

As his final American revival meeting continued Saturday, a fragile Billy Graham was met onstage by former President Clinton, who honored the evangelist, calling him "a man I love."

Clinton spoke briefly before Graham's sermon and recalled how the man known as America's pastor had refused to preach before a segregated audience in Arkansas decades ago when that state was in a bitter fight over school desegregation.

"I was just a little boy and I'll never forget it," said Clinton, who was joined by his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. "I've loved him ever since. God bless you, friend."
Graham called the Clintons "wonderful friends" and "a great couple," quipping that the former president should become an evangelist and allow "his wife to run the country."

It bothers me when Rev. Graham says things like that, for surely he knows that possibly one of the worse things that could happen to our country is to have Hillary in charge, however, I think this is indicative of the way that Rev. Graham has endeared himself to the world. He just loves, unconditionally. Just as God would want him to do.

I heard an interview with Franklin Graham, Billy's son, on the radio on Friday, in which he was asked what makes his father so effective in his ministry. Franklin replied that his father was like a "turtle on a fence post". That turtle didn't get there on his own, he had to have been put there by someone else. He said his father is a man of God and took special care that he would never allow himself to be put in positions in which he would look as if he was anything other than a man of God. I agree with that. I have heard that he will never allow himself to be alone with a single woman. If he is on an elevator alone, for instance, and a woman gets on, he will step off, to avoid any possiblility that someone will suspect impropriety. With that said, I have to say that I believe Franklin doesn't get it.

In my opinion, the reason that Billy Graham is so effective in his ministry is because of the intangible. That is, The Holy Spirit. If you really sit and listen to his sermons, you will notice that Rev. Grahams sermons aren't complicated explanations of theology. They are simple. They simply state the message of God's unconditional love for all humans, and how one can be saved. This is a message that everyone has heard countless times but rarely does one take heed. But it works for Graham because he has the Spirit of God in him, and that spirit speaks to our hearts through him. In other words, it isn't Billy Graham or his message at all. It is the Holy Spirit that makes the difference. Rev. Graham is just the anointed messenger.

I believe we can all learn from this great man. I, along with millions of other people, have been touched by his ministry. But I'm not sure I am ready to love Hillary Clinton.