Being a Christian means walking with Christ the rest of your life

Published 9:17 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Dear Rev. Graham: My granddaughter came for a visit while on spring break from college, and I learned that she was unhappy with life. It scared me. After asking many questions to try to discern what was causing this, I concluded she was too filled up with success – at the top of her class and has charmed her way into many hearts. There was no mention of God’s impact in her life, though she was saved as a young child. When I suggested that she may have neglected her walk with the Lord, she asked, “How can a Christian associate with others who are involved in the world without being influenced or swayed for the wrong?” I’m not sure how to sufficiently answer. – C.G.

Dear C.G.: Becoming a Christian takes only a single step; being a Christian means walking with Christ the rest of your life.

We have at our fingertips every pleasure that man is capable of enjoying, and we have abused every gift God ever gave us. We have allowed worldly desires and pleasures to fill the heart and mind. The world is obsessed with “things of the world.” Its ear is too dull to hear the truth; eyes too blind to see.

Many people have no appetite for spiritual things because they are absorbed in the pleasures of this world. Desire for immediate pleasure prompts us to think of everything but God. The more worldly pleasure we enjoy, the less satisfied and contented we are with life.

The Christian way of daily living must be distinct from the world. This can only be achieved by a close walk with Christ through prayer and seeking the Lord throughout the day. We’re to be in the world, but the world is not to be in us. We must delight in the things of Him and be obedient to His Word. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4, NKJV).

(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)