May God grant repentance and faith to us and our chilldren...
A brother sent along this link to an article on Billy Graham titled "The Fight over Billy Graham's Legacy." The author shows an obvious disdain for Billy's son Franklin, but there's this notable statement by Franklin explaining how he differs from his father:
"We preach the same Gospel,” Franklin Graham says, but “Daddy hates to say no. I can say no."
My friend comments, "That says a lot, doesn't it," and then adds this...
observation and warning:Note that out of Billy Graham's five children, three have been divorced; and it's my impression that the remaining family and siblings are not close. Incidentally, I've been reading through 1Samuel lately, and have been reminded of the line of spiritual leaders who saw their sons reject their fathers' faith: Eli, Samuel (who should've learned from Eli), David, Solomon, and so on. Just reminds me of the need to be thankful for godly families, and to pray that God will not abandon the sons of the Church to be Esaus.
Quite right. May God send His Holy Spirit to give the gifts of repentance and faith to our sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters. Integrally connected to our children, though, the past couple of days I've been thinking along the lines of my brother David's post, "Drifting away...:" specifically, how imperative it is that our consciences and hearts grow more tender--not more calloused--as we age.
May God allow us to set an example of this in our older years.
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Agreed; but it seems to me that the principle, "God has no grandchildren", is one too often learnt the hard way by Christian families, Covenantal and dispensational alike! Billy wouldn't be the first Christian leader to have dropped the ball with his family, and he won't be the last, but at what point do we expect individuals to take responsibility for their own choices? I also think it is asking a little too much of fathers for them to be responsible for all their children's choices.
Samuel is like this; he was all too aware of what had happened of Eli's sons, and why, and it seems to me that he would not have appointed his sons judges if he had had /any/ inkling of what would happen next.
>> ...but at what point do we expect individuals to take responsibility for their own choices? I also think it is asking a little too much of fathers for them to be responsible for all their children's choices.
Ross,
As a father of four little ones, I can't be content to "expect my children to take responsibility for their own choices". I groan for them, that they would love and serve Jesus as Lord. What you say is true -- in the end it *is* the children's responsibility -- but a father's heart can't be content to sit back. Like the father in Proverbs, we exhort and rebuke and instruct and discipline, praying that God will make His word grow in their hearts.
Eli's sons, Samuel's, David's....ouch!
Along the same lines, I remember hearing a talk by Doug Phillips on this subject, and he recalled a conversation with someone who had been on Billy Sunday's music team who noted that they were actually told that their mission in life did not necessarily include the salvation of their own children--as even Sunday's children did not come to living faith.
Lots of lessons can be learned from many of history's great traveling evangelists.....many of them not so pretty, I'm afraid.
And then, the quirky thing is then why *some* children in a family do come to faith and stay there, and other children in the family don't. We grew up in a Christian family (Dad is a pastor) but my brother and sister aren't Christians in any meaningful sense of the word.
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