Nearing Home by Billy Graham (best book club books for discussion txt) 📗

Or even in the days of your fathers?

Tell your children about it,

Let your children tell their children,

And their children another generation. (Joel 1:2–3 NKJV)

The prophet is reminding the experienced, older generation to recall times past when they had gone through similar calamities and how, when they turned back to God, He faithfully restored them. Today as we witness a threatened economy taking its toll on our national lifestyle, how often do the elderly gather the young to teach them what they learned during similar times? Some say, “There’s a huge gap between our generation and the next. The younger believe our problems have passed us by; that we have nothing more to offer.”

We cannot make others heed what we say, but we can and should speak out for the truth and pray that the Lord will open ears, minds, and hearts to what wisdom has to say. The Bible declares,

Remember the days of old,

Consider the years of many generations.

Ask your father, and he will show you;

Your elders, and they will tell you. (Deuteronomy 32:7 NKJV)

Scripture says that the man who finds wisdom is happy, and “length of days is in her right hand” (Proverbs 3:13, 16 NKJV). This is not to say that the older generation has all the answers—we do not. Our responsibility as believers in Christ is to proclaim the wisdom of His Word. God has taught every generation, through blight or blessing, to look to Him as the source of all things. The greatest remedy to any challenge, including the generation gap, comes from the Word of God because when the Word of God is proclaimed, God Himself blesses it.

The Bible instructs the young to honor the presence of an old man and to revere God (Leviticus 19:32), but do the elderly demonstrate such reverence before the Lord? Are we examples for the young?

The apostle Paul wrote as an aged man, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful” (1 Timothy 1:12 NKJV). Then he advised Timothy, “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity . . . that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12, 15–16 NKJV). Paul acknowledged that God had equipped him to speak these words of wisdom to this young man. Many today are declaring that Christianity should not be complicated by doctrine, and young people are embracing this belief while many from the older generations sit in silence. We should just as boldly as Paul advise those younger than us: “Hear, my children, the instruction of a father . . . for I give you good doctrine” (Proverbs 4:1–2 NKJV).

With careful instructions Paul also counseled his spiritual son to advise his elders in the faith, to grab hold of scriptural doctrines and teach them to the young and old. Here is a wonderful picture of God’s truth impacting one generation to another. The aged can learn from the young too. This is God’s wisdom; this is His master plan.

To all who read this book, my prayer is that you will sense God encouraging you to impact those around you, regardless of age. Look for the Lord’s purpose in every circumstance and in every face or voice you encounter daily, for the time He has given you is not without purpose. Prepare for each day by asking the Lord to open your eyes to what is going on around you. You may feel lonely, but perhaps the Lord will use your smile to draw someone else close to you. You may experience pain, but the Lord may use your resolve to strengthen another who doesn’t have the will to go on. We can reject the opportunity to be used of God, or we can seize opportunities to impact others as a testimony to Him.

PAIN: A TOOL, NOT AN EXCUSE

While writing this book, I had the great privilege to visit with Louis Zamperini, a World War II veteran who spent two and a half years as a POW in a Japanese prison camp. At ninety-four years old, he traveled from his home in California to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he graciously appeared at the Billy Graham Library. For several hours he shook people’s hands and autographed copies of the book Unbroken, his life’s story.3 The following day, he rode two hours to my home where we had lunch together. It had been many years since we had visited. Louis patiently answered my questions as I asked him to relay his experiences that led up to his conversion.

When Louis was rescued in 1945 and was welcomed home as a war hero, he enjoyed short-lived celebrity, followed by hard times. Humanly speaking, he had reason to be bitter and cynical. His wife, though, persuaded him to attend our 1949 crusade in Los Angeles where we conducted evangelistic meetings and preached the Gospel for six straight weeks. When Louis returned the second night, instead of slipping out early as he had planned to do when the invitation was given, he said that the Holy Spirit gripped his heart, and he walked the aisle into a prayer room where he repented of his sin, giving his life wholly to the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Billy,” he told me during our visit, “within a matter of moments my life was changed forever. Since that night I have never had another nightmare about my captivity. The Lord radically transformed me.”

What happened in Louis’s life following his conversion is a thrilling story. While I had to coax him to tell me all he has done since then, he gave glory to the Lord for using him, even now at ninety-four. Louis is one of those night-blooming cereuses. Still serving the Lord, he is investing the fruit