The friend and personal pastor of Billy Graham remembered the years he had with the late evangelist, sharing the lessons from the life of the man he described as one who "reflected the face of God's grace."
In an interview with The Christian Post, Don Wilton spoke about the genuine faith and humility of Rev. Graham, inspiring him to write a book. He released "Saturdays with Billy: My Friendship with Billy Graham," honoring the legacy of his friend. It contains lessons from the life and ministry of the evangelist, as well as 20 stories about their friendship.
"Mr. Graham's heartbeat and passion and reflection of the very face of God showed deeply, penetrated my own heart and life. I've never been around a man personally like that, who so deeply and genuinely and consistently reflected the face of God's grace. As a pastor myself, one can only imagine the enormous depth of the blessing that God conferred on me every time I was with him every week," he recalled.
For 15 years, until days before the evangelist passed away in 2018, Wilton would drive to his home in Montreat, North Carolina to discuss about family, sports, politics and their spiritual lives.
"Most people, the closer you get to them, the more you realize they have clay feet. But the closer I got to this man, Billy Graham, the more I realized that he was just full of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that showed throughout his life and his demeanor. Everything pointed to Jesus," the pastor noted.
He also observed of Rev. Graham's deep love for his family, especially for his wife, Ruth. Wilton remembered how his friend would stare out the window just to see his wife preparing food.
"It sounds very simplistic, but he had such a very tender and deep love for her that when she went on to be the Lord, he had a deep gap and grief in his heart," he revealed.
The pastor also disclosed that Rev. Graham loved "good food," especially black coffee.
However, Wilton pointed out that the most impressive thing about the evangelist was his amazing humility despite being widely famous.
"If you were to paint a picture of Don Wilton and Dr. Billy Graham, here's the picture: A nobody who thought he was a somebody, talking to a somebody who really thought he was a nobody," he said.
He added that amidst his popularity, having been someone who dealt with world leaders, royalties, celebrities and influential people, Rev. Graham "consistently exemplified the uncommon unattainable spirit of humility." He also did not elevate himself but only Jesus Christ.
Wilton said that the evangelist's life reflected Galatians 6:14.
"But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world," the verse says.
"Mr. Graham was respected by all people, and yet was unapologetic about holy living and righteousness and the wrath and judgment of God and salvation exclusively through Jesus," he further stated.
He declared that in this post-Christian culture, the modern church should emulate the evangelist's passion of keeping the Gospel of Jesus Christ as "the main thing," adding that he "passionately and unapologetically" believed in the "life-transforming power of the cross of Jesus" and loved people the same way.
The pastor also shared his concern over the country's policies that violate the Word of God, thinking of how to gauge the balance as a Christian, being a testimony while standing on the truth of God's Word.
He is hoping that by sharing his story about Rev. Graham, he would be able to encourage readers to discover the true heart of the evangelist and draw them "near to the heart of the Lord."
"I pray that people would read Saturdays with Billy and pass that on to others so that others would be blessed. That's what Mr. Graham did. His whole life was passing blessings on from one person to the next. We just pray this book is an extension of the witness of the life and testimony of Dr. Billy Graham," the pastor concluded.
Wilton is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Spartanburg, South Carolina for almost three decades. He is also the founder of the broadcast ministry, "The Encouraging Word."
