Take My Hand Inspirations
Fruit of the Spirit Series
GOD’S REFLECTION &
GOD’S HANDS: The Sixth Fruit – GOODNESS—in Dedication to Evangelist Billy
Graham
PART 2: GOD’S HANDS
Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very
good (Genesis 1:31).
Please
take time to read the previous Blog #21; for in it we shared what goodness was
as an adjective and noun. This Blog
describes a version of goodness that takes action as a verb, a doing word; that
is to do good.
From
Blog #20, KINDNESS
is defined as generous, helpful and caring about other
people’s feelings. Goodness
is linked to kindness in this way: To do good is to give kindness without
expecting anything in return to yourself.
To do good is to share your fruit of kindness to make others feel better
or become better. A kind word backed
with a genuine smile can make the down-trodden or depressed feel better. A generous scholarship given to a bright but financially
weak student makes him or her become better.
What
does every person that comes in contact with you take away with them after they have left your presence? Did you make that
person—small or big, young or old, Black or White, rich or poor, etc.—feel or
become better? If yes, your Fruit of
Goodness is singing a song of sunshine.
If
a person feels worse after leaving your presence, take a time out! Forgive
yourself for troubling their soul with your personal trauma or insulting or
ignoring them or violating their integrity or rights in some way. Forgive yourself and try again with the next
person. Oh, learn this lesson quickly Dear
Christian. Christ is coming soon!
When
I learned that Evangelist Billy Graham died on Wednesday, 21st
February, I took a big gulp of breath and said, “Wow! What a servant of the
Lord!” I could envision our Lord saying to him,
Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord
(Matthew 25:21a,c). Do you notice how
the Fruit of Goodness is followed by the Fruit of Faithfulness? Stay tuned for the next Blog.
I
didn’t grow up in Evangelist Graham’s generation. And honestly, I never heard him preach until
Friday morning over the radio; neither have I seen him on television, but his
name, just like Knox, Moody, Wesley or Spurgeon, Luther, and Luther King, Jr.,
even Mother Theresa, rings that big Christian bell: “This is one of the Lord’s good and
faithful servants!” After
reading about his life, I was in awe.
And I said to myself, “I want to be remembered like that, as a good and
faithful servant of the Lord even up to my transition into the joy of my Lord.”
He
called himself Evangelist, even though he was an ordained Southern Baptist
minister. At age 16, he fully committed
his heart to the Lord and got the fire to preach the message of
salvation—the gospel of Jesus Christ—to over 215 million people in live
audiences in over 185 countries around the world. He reached millions more by his television
and radio broadcasts, printed magazines and books; and modern digital ICT media. What really touched me most was discovering
how the goodness of his hand reached my own children’s hands in Ghana. 
He
founded the Billy Graham Evangelical Association (BGEA) which is now run by his
son Franklin Graham who also runs Samaritan’s Purse (founded by Bob Pierce in
1970). Every year Samaritan’s Purse
sends its Operation Christmas Child Gift Boxes through my church; and with
their evangelical discipleship course—The
Greatest Journey—I have used my own hands to do good by distributing the
boxes and preaching the gospel to and graduating well over 2000 children
disciples in my rural district comprising about 30 different villages.
The
Graham Fruit of Goodness has reached to the far corners of this globe; and I am
so thrilled to be part of it! Goodness! What a surprise! And it feels so good when I look at the smiling faces of the graduates of
The
Greatest Journey Discipleship Course as they hold their Bibles and
Certificates in gracious hands.
Thank
you so much Evangelist Billy Graham. You
forced me to take stock of how I am working for the Lord. As I was meditating on this question: “Lord, am I
making an impact on the children with Your Word and message of salvation?”,
I entered a taxi heading home. The
driver happened to be a parent of a child who used to attend our private
Christian school, of which I am headmistress.
I asked, “How is my girl, Charity?”
He was so relieved that I still cared about her welfare (I love my
children no matter what decisions their parents make). He said to me, “Are you still having Bible
Studies after school with the children?
I want you to call me when you start again, so Charity can join them.” God gave me the answer I needed.
Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the
man who trusts in Him [to fill him out with more of His Fruit of Goodness]!
(Psalm 34:8).
© 2018 by Take My Hand Inspirations, a
division of PepParadise Society Ltd Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
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only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Unless otherwise stated, all scripture
quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas
Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.
Photos of Evangelist Billy Graham, Patheos, by Andy Gill Tylor Standley
Most of the paintings selected is
retrieved from “Black Art” search engine.
Take My Hand Inspirations
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