This World is Not My Home
by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams
I couldn’t imagine all those years ago, when I stood in a chair next to my sister in one of any number of churches in the Dothan, Alabama, area, that the lyrics of this Gospel hymn would find their way, flying around the world, in a quote by the beloved evangelist, Rev. Billy Graham. Nor could I have imagined as a child, gathered as a family around our old black and white television, that I would one day see the young man preaching with such love and passion, pass from this life into eternal life.
I don’t recall the first Billy Graham Crusade we watched. I do know it would have been in Dothan, Alabama. We never missed one of his televised events. I was only a child of about five or six the first time I remember seeing one of the crusades. The young minister delivered the Gospel message in words that even this child could understand. Hundreds, if not thousands of people left their seats to go down front and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The choir sang softly in the background, Just As I Am. Though I was very young, my heart was stirred and tears poured down my face as I watched. Every single time.
Welcome Home, Well Done
By the time you read this, Billy Graham, Child of the King, will have been in Heaven with his Heavenly Father for a bit over a week. I imagine the celebration is continuing as people, by the tens of thousands, greet Rev. Graham, telling him that if it had not been for his sharing the Gospel message, they would not be there. And though his family have anxiously awaited his arrival, I am sure that they moved to the background as their beloved Billy greeted all those who wished to welcome him home. After all, that is what they did here on earth. They understood the importance of the task, the calling, given unto their Billy.
If ever there was a servant called to spread the Gospel message who did so for as long and as willingly, lovingly as Billy Graham, I don’t know who it would be. We can all, without a doubt, say, “Well, done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:23 (NASB)
What about you? Have you heard a voice calling unto you? Have you stopped and listened? Have you taken steps to heed that voice?
Called
The Billy Grahams of this world are few and far between, but if God has called you to a specific purpose, I hope you’ve taken steps toward that end. Perhaps you’ve been called to preach the Gospel, or maybe you’ve been called to be a part of the worship team. Do you have a gift that would make you perfect for the task of greeter? Maybe you’ve been called to teach, or to act, or to care for little ones.
I have many friends who have been called to be writers. They, like all the callings mentioned above, come in all sizes and shapes, and they write all manner of literature, from Sunday School or Bible School curriculum, to devotionals or Bible studies, to Christian world-view romance novels, mysteries, historical fiction, or any number of other genres.
My point is, they heard the call and they answered. If you feel you are being called, no matter what it is God is calling you to, I hope you will take that first step, in faith, and answer. You never know who or how many people whose lives could be impacted by something you said, or wrote, or some action you took.
No matter who you are or where you are, when you walk through the Pearly Gates, the celebration in Heaven will be no less than the one given to Billy Graham. That’s just the nature of God and His promises to those who believe.
As the old hymn and Rev. Graham said, This world is not my home. All of Heaven will be there to greet you with Welcome Home!
What a celebration.
Have you felt or heard a calling on your life? Share that with us below.
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Hi, I’m Debra
Jesus Follower, wife, BoyMom, DD, author, blogger, musician, southern cook, amateur genealogist, amateur artist, living life with an accent on Southern.
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