Honoring Mother Teresa and Billy Graham

I would like to honor two heroes of the faith today - Mother Teresa and Billy Graham. Two very distinct and unique individuals that have moved history with their contributions and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Mother Teresa is a Catholic nun who received a call from God to be his representative to the poor. According to blogger Jenna from Caring Catholic Convert:

"On September 10, 1946, while traveling by train from Calcutta to a religious retreat house in another city, Mother Teresa realized that she was being called to serve Jesus in the poorest of the poor. She also received locutions and visions where Jesus asked her to form the Missionaries of Charity and recruit Indian nuns.  Jesus told her the following: “I want Indian nuns, Missionaries of Charity, who would be my fire of love amongst the poor, the sick, the dying, and the little children. . . .” The chief motivation behind the Sisters of Charity was not to engage in social work but -- instead -- to adore Jesus Christ in the littlest and weakest of His children and to win them to Christ." (Source: http://authorette-nouveau.blogspot.com/2012/03/dark-soul-of-mother-teresa-of-calcuta.html)

When I think of Mother Teresa, I can't help but think she was the greatest of us all just because she loved radically. The Bible tells us "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3,13)."

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8)." Love fulfills the requirements of the law.

If anything Mother Teresa was an ambassador of love. People remember her for so much more but to me, that's what she represented - radical love the same way as her God.

And then there's Billy Graham. If Mother Teresa was the ambassador of love because of her commitment to Jesus Christ, Billy Graham, as with many heroes of the faith before him and presently, is an ambassador to the gospel. He was an evangelist. This man has traveled all over the world sharing Christ, having conducted more than 400 crusades in 185 countries and territories in six continents. The way he presents the gospel is so compelling and can only be inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is enough to see that the call of God in His life is very real. "According to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. As of 2008, Graham's estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion." (Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham)

Mother Teresa during her lifetime had been Jesus' feet and hands. Billy Graham has been Jesus' mouthpiece. Amazing people.

But even though we look up to these two, I am content to never in my lifetime be another Mother Teresa or a Billy Graham. I am okay never to reach the hallmarks of her love nor the greatness of Billy's faith. I am content mostly because I just love serving God with whatever broken vessel that I am. It is an unworthy and an undeserved gift but it just shows how much God has already accepted me and loved me for who I am. And we can rest content and happy, not anymore bound to follow a certain way, but God's way that's right for me.