#Calling – Insightwiththerockdweller

“The greatest legacy one can pass on to one’s children and grandchildren is not money or other material things accumulated in one’s life, but rather a legacy of character and faith.”–Billy Graham

It is no longer news that the great evangelist and televangelist, Pastor Billy Graham, has gone to be with the Lord. The new media was flooded with the news as soon as he drew his last breath, to his genteel lie in state at the rotunda of the US capitol, to his final burial in Charlotte NC where he slept side by side with his darling wife, Ruth Graham, and up until this very moment.

My health finally got the attention it deserves last week and that kicked me into a state of compulsive rest as a friend called it. I seized this moment to meditate and for some reason, the name Billy Graham crept into my lofty mind. I read a bit about him and I drew this conclusion without fear of being misunderstood: Billy Graham is indeed one of the greatest men to have ever walked the surface of this earth. In fact, he belongs to the league of men the world isn’t worthy to host according to Hebrew 11:38. It’s a huge privilege to know that such a man was once amongst us.

Nobody should doubt the magnitude of a man responsible for mentoring great men like Rick Warren who pastors a megachurch in Southern California. “Billy was the greatest Christian of the 20th century, in my opinion,” Warren said. He further added: “The greatest thing about him was having done ministry for 60 years without any scandal.”

Graham maintained a policy called the “Billy Graham rule” that he would not travel or be alone with a woman who wasn’t his wife, a rule Pence has reportedly followed himself (I won’t subscribe to this plan though… LOL).

I don’t think I need to tell you Billy Graham’s type is extremely rare. His integrity has encouraged millions to heed his spiritual guidance, including Martin Luther King, Jr., Bono, Muhammad Ali and United States presidents from Eisenhower to Bush. In fact, he has been rated by the Gallup organization 51 staggering times as “One of the Ten Most Admired Men in the World”. He is the fourth private citizen to be lain in honour (rather than lie in state) in the US capitol rotunda since 1793.

His death pulled as much crowd as his lifetime. It wasn’t surprising to see aristocrats in white evangelicalism, including entertainers like Kathie Lee Gifford and Steven Curtis Chapman; pastors Rick Warren and Joel Osteen; popular speakers Ravi Zacharias and Beth Moore; and political figures Ben Carson and Sarah Palin on the guest list.

Everything written about this 99-year old man is amazing but this in particular, really hit me:
He preached Christ to more than 215 million people in live audiences in over 185 countries. This is just incredibly amazing!

Graham has been credited with preaching to more individuals than anyone else in history, not counting the additional millions he has reached through radio, television and books. It was recorded that he reached over two billion people in all with his gospel of Jesus Christ.

NOTE: The world population as at 1970 was 4 billion so it is safe to say he reached over 50% of the world in his prime.

For a moment, let’s think this way: God created everything for his pleasure so he is the chairman and CEO of this organisation (Heaven and Earth PLC). Everything in this organisation revolves around a product and a brand known as JESUS. We have been employed (recruited) to market and sell Jesus to all creation. Imagine a colleague of ours who has spoken to more than a Billion prospective customers about the same brand we all claim to represent?

Friends, if a man could do this without any social media handle, then no honour is enough to match the level of his sacrifice as he paid the price for his purpose. He deserves our honour and this is the least I can do to say well done Papa.

I noticed many people wrote as if he had it all rosy and calm, they painted the picture that he was everyone’s friend. Graham suffered some great persecution even within his fold; he was not in everyone’s good book. He was criticized on various levels, his approach to the gospel was attacked. Some wings of the church attacked his style as been too simple and watery.

Bob jones once called him an enemy to the gospel of Jesus. He was grossly attacked for giving Martin Luther king Jr a platform to amplify his voice. In all, he walked through the valley of the Shadow of attacks, and he came out unhurt.

Sleep tight Father Billy!

If you feel blessed by this Kindly drop your comment as we all appreciate God’s gift wrapped in human flesh.

“The irony of the human condition is that it is the narrow gate to life. Few find it because they are too fearful to look ” — RJ Blizzard

The phrase ‘get lean’ swam into the ocean of my mind while having a conversation with a great friend. He wrote: “the journey ahead requires leanness.” I read that a few times and began to mediate on the uncommon phrase. It has been one of my guarding light since then.

As I pondered on these lines, Matthew 7:14 walked into the corridor of my imagination:

“But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure), and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.” (Matthew 7:14 Amplified Bible, Classic Edition).

Your entrance into the gate of greatness, requires a high level of leanness. You cannot afford to go with all your excesses, you need to deliberately put aside whatever and whoever is not necessary for the journey ahead and lay down those things and relationships that are potent enough to weigh you down. The journey is very long, so you must learn to travel light.

The first principle of productivity requires that you streamline your strength and attention to a few tasks per time. To produce more, pruning must be engaged:

“Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:2).

The word “prune” means to cut off some of the branches (of a tree or bush) so that it will grow better or look better: to reduce (something) by removing parts that are not necessary or wanted.

Every generator is limited by its capacity (KVA). You are equally designed with limited abilities. To maximize your potential, you need to invest your energies strictly on needful and productive tasks; Deliberately Prune Your Life.
You cannot afford to live a drained life because you are trying to keep up with every activity around you. Do not wear out yourself trying to reach out to everyone around you. Remember, everyone is not part of your assignment.

Sometimes, it is smart to ask God first before we jump into the stormy water to save someone. I strongly feel there is a season where you need to differentiate people who are assigned to you from those who are attached to you (and vice versa). Be smart!

I recently got involved in some time-consuming projects and immediately I knew I would be useless to myself and probably my generation if I dare keep up with all my previous responsibilities and duties. I counted my cost as I began to cut down many activities (including writing and reading) even as I adjusted to cope with my new phase. Some acquaintances misinterpreted me and that is fine. Do I owe anybody an explanation? Hell no!

I believe I can do all things through Christ that empowers me. However, I do not believe I am empowered to do everything. I cannot help everybody, I am too weak to be a great friend to everyone, I can’t afford to attend every great conference, I will not reply every chat and respond to every mail and calls. I can’t even remember every birthday. I cannot attend every wedding ceremony and birthday party, in fact, I might even forget to keep some of my promises (I will always try to keep my words though but do not forget that I am human).

Life is short, and I have got to live it well. I want to trim down enough to run through the narrow gate of destiny without breaking a sweat.

Professors are masters of specific (narrow) field of study. I want to invest my energy, time and resources to the very narrow field I am called to dominate. I am not ashamed to be a novice in your field, I might be clueless about the trendy fashion shows and reality TV shows, but I won’t be caught at the gate with excessive loads and burden.