In Spite of It All

I've been spending some time the last week or so reading Rebel with a Cause by Franklin Graham. He's the oldest son of Billy Graham, and I was interested in reading his autobiography because he runs one of my favorite charities, Samaritan's Purse.

The book is easy to read, and it's been cool to have some insight into who this man is and what kind of journey he's traveled.

Today, though, I read something that I had to roll my eyes at.

He was describing one of his best friends and told about a time when this friend played Christian music outside a porn shop and told people walking by, "You're going to hell. You need Jesus."

Graham was using this as a positive example of his friend's heart for God and lost people, and my immediate thought was, "Dude...if any good comes from that, it's because God works in spite of your friend."

Billy and I talk about this kind of thing a lot. We each have our own ideas about how church should be done, and what The Church should look like and focus on. We each have our own opinions of what priorities should come to the forefront and what tactics are beneficial to the cause.

Sometimes, we start to think that we can do something that will cause a person to come to Christ. What I forget is that all my efforts are filthy rags, just like everyone else's.

No one has ever been closer to God because of me. But sometimes, God chooses to work in spite of me.