The Passing of Christian Giants
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
“The Lord knows where to find His servants. He has in ambush a multitude of mighty men, and at His word they will take to the battle; "for the battle is the Lord's,"1 and He will get to Himself the victory. So let us remain faithful to Christ, and He, in the right time, will raise up for us a defense, whether it be in the day of our personal need or in the season of peril to His Church.” – C. H. Spurgeon
One by one, they left us to inherit their heavenly reward…
Jerry Falwell, Sr. (1933-2007) and Dr. D. James Kennedy (1930-2007) were the first to go, followed by Chuck Colson (1931-2012) five years later. The Rev. Billy Graham (1918-2018) was next, passing just seven months shy of his 100th birthday.
Then, in 2023, Pat Robertson (1930-2023) and Dr. Charles Stanley (1932-2023) were called home by the Lord, their earthly work having been completed.
In the flesh, I mourned the passing of such great men of faith, some of whom had a profound impact on my life. In fact, Chuck Colson’s second book, “Life Sentence”, was one of the instruments that God used to call me into full-time prison ministry almost 40 years ago.
Likewise, as traumatic as it was dropping our daughter off at college back in 2005, the fact that Jerry Falwell would be watching over her at Liberty University gave Deanna and I a real sense of peace.
The passing of Christian giants can cause you to worry about who will fill their shoes. And yet, just as God used Billy Graham to carry the torch passed to him by Billy Sunday, God always has an army of pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and other Christian workers at the ready. Since He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10), nothing catches Him unprepared or off guard.
And so, when Chuck Swindoll, age 90; David Jeremiah, age 83; and Franklin Graham, age 72; pass into eternity, we need not be concerned about who will replace them. God already knows… and that’s enough for me.
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18 (NKJV)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
