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

Strong family ties grew strong, reliable character, and I believe young people who know nothing of that era have missed out on important lessons.

My point is that grandparents and great-grandparents today often dismiss the importance of their family role. Respect must be earned and given. While society has belittled the impact of the older generations, the elderly have too easily relinquished their roles without much thought. The Bible tells us to care for our family members, especially our immediate families (1 Timothy 5:8). The example must start with those who have lived the longest. Some may say that the elderly are no longer relevant in society, but that doesn’t mean we should take a backseat. When the family is destroyed, society eventually disintegrates. Our nation is experiencing this today. A dear friend said one day, “It’s time we let the young people lead. We had our day. We did it our way. Now it’s their turn.”

I am grateful that my children were influenced by their grandparents. My father died when my children were quite young, and my mother lived two hours away, but the children often visited her until her death in 1981. The children, however, grew up in walking distance of Ruth’s parents. They spent much time with my children and made a profound impact in the lives of each. Dr. Bell entertained them with his stories about time spent in China as a missionary doctor. When he got to the gory details, Ruth’s mother would scold him for saying such things. The children would laugh with delight, coaxing their grandfather to continue. They still talk about it today. They also refer often to the strength they still draw from their grandparents’ experiences and wisdom. After all, it is part of their heritage, and they have passed it on to their children and grandchildren. This is a lasting legacy.

I realize that this is not everyone’s story. There are many who have never known the love of home and family. Many have dark stories of abuse and an overwhelming lack of love and acceptance. Society seems to lose more ground with each passing generation. An elderly couple admitted they had “no earthly idea” how to influence their teenage grandchildren—they simply could not relate to them. In response, I believe that is, perhaps, the problem—we are looking for an earthly solution. We should, instead, try looking into God’s Word. That’s where we will find the answers.

Peer pressure is a very real thing that impacts individuals and their influence. The Bible says,

If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,

you will be my spokesman.

You must influence them;

do not let them influence you! (Jeremiah 15:19 NLT)

In my day boys felt the peer pressure to smoke. My children’s generation felt strong pressure to experiment with drugs. My grandchildren’s generation has been assaulted with promiscuous sex at nearly every age and level of society. Because the Word of God has been absent from our public school system for decades, and because families have virtually stopped attending church together, there are only shades of godly influence that instruct them to live moral lives and reverence God.

It is striking to read how the young are influencing the elderly. One rather young grandmother made excuses for living with a man. She said, “My granddaughter thinks I’m very cool.” This is a far cry from life on the farm when a granddaughter would gain insight from a loving grandmother’s instruction to “teach what is good” (Titus 2:3). The older generation should be looking for ways to encourage the younger because they are constantly bombarded with wrong teaching, poor examples, and pressure tactics.

A reporter interviewing a 104-year-old woman asked, “What is the best thing about being 104?” She simply replied, “No peer pressure.” This may bring a smile because there is so much truth in it. As the old grow older, we are more likely to forget what it was to be young and impressionable.

George Beverly Shea enjoys life at 102. He considers me his younger friend. Those who are blessed with living a healthy and full life for a century and counting are in a class all their own. Many often ask why Bev can so effectively connect with the young. I believe the reason is that Bev embraces his age with grace and humor and people are drawn to that authenticity. They are invigorated by his good spirit and his testimony to what the Lord Jesus means to him. He doesn’t try to redress his beliefs in order to be accepted by those younger than him. And I find it interesting how many young people visit him and ask him to play the organ. We, the older generation, often sell young people short by giving them what we think they want instead of sharing our experiences. To us, our experiences are old news. To the young, it is information they have never heard and considered. Stanford University held a forum a decade ago on aging and invited young people to participate in the discussion. The question: “Why is aging a young person’s issue?”2 One student reportedly responded, “Because we’re all on the same journey, and I’d like to know what others learned along the way.”

What a privilege we have to prepare the way for those who are watching. Do we really take this to heart? We are allowing Satan to snuff out our influence by making us think that no one really cares. In writing this book, I was given comments that were found on a blog from young people discussing the difference between the young and old generations. It stated, “We need both generations in society for what they contribute. The younger one questions, challenges, and sparks change; the older one puts on the brakes sometimes, providing the wisdom of experience [that can help us make wise decisions for our lives].”3

While this may not represent all younger generations, it does reveal that not all of them resist hearing from their elders. The question