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From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Dear Rev. Graham: My heart’s broken that my daughter who grew up in the church and always loved it has drifted away. She relies on the fact that she’s still a church member but there are no signs that she’s living for the Lord. My friends say that she may never have been saved and may have to go through a difficult time before this happens. I’m looking for a glimmer of hope. — W.D.

Dear W.D.: There are those who rest on the fact that they belong to a church and that’s all that’s necessary. They perform the rites, pay the money, and think they’ve done all that’s necessary to meet the standard. Worrying about eternity nags with doubt and striving to be good seems unattainable. No matter how much we try to live according to the precepts of Jesus’ message, it’s impossible without Christ living within us.
The story’s told of a young college student who wrote to his father and said, “I don’t believe in God. When I come home I don’t want you to cram religion down my throat by taking me to church.” His father was brokenhearted. War came. This young man volunteered for the Army Air Corps. One night in battle, after having dropped bombs, one of the motors in his plane caught fire. He ordered the crew to jump, and then he followed. “I was praying to the God who a few months ago I denied existed,” he said later. “By the time I hit the water I knew my father’s Christ.” He went from sinner to saint in a moment’s time. What a glorious reality. We must never cease praying for those who still need to know Jesus as Savior and Lord.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)