Book Review: Rebel With A Cause. “Finally Comfortable Being A Graham.” An Autobiography by Franklin Graham. c. 1995
Book Review: Rebel With A Cause. “Finally Comfortable Being A Graham.” An Autobiography by Franklin Graham. c. 1995
Book review by Kevin Jesmer 1/27/12
This book is an autobiography written by Franklin Graham, the son of the evangelist Billy Graham. In it he chronicles his journey to faith and to personal calling in Jesus. It is an encouragement to all young people who are finding themselves rebelling against the Lord and who have yet to find their way. It is also a “must read” for parents to know that no matter how hard we try to raise our kids as Christians, God has his way and his hand guiding their lives.
I would say that Billy and Ruth Graham could possibly be one of the best parents in raising Christian children. They preached the gospel, they raised disciples, and they lived what they preached. Ruth Graham even had devotionals with their kids twice a day, morning and evening. Most of all they prayed. But despite all of their best efforts, Franklin was a young man with his own plan. At the beginning it was not God’s plan, but later it became God’s plan.
Franklin shares about his struggles as a youth. He smoked. He sought after women. He broke traffic rules. He struggled in college. He lived as if God didn’t exist. But his parents prayed. They also counseled him and rebuked him from time to time. But they trusted God.
There are a couple of people Christian people that Franklin respected. There was one person who carried a gun on some mission trips. Franklin respected him. He told Franklin, “You’re running from the Lord.”
God used short term mission trips to help Franklin come to Jesus. One time he drove a Land Rover from England to Jordan to donate it to a clinic. It was during this trip that his interest in Jesus was perked. As Franklin got more and more involved in the work of the Lord his heart began to change. Meeting his future wife, Jane, changed his heart. Eventually he met Jesus personally.
Another big event is when he took over the leadership of Samaritan’s Purse. This led Franklin to some of the most desperate places on earth to bring the love of God through preaching and medical teams. He grew a lot through this mission.
His final breakthrough was in preaching salvation messages at Crusades. He liked crusades and he liked salvation messages, but he never thought that he was capable of doing it. But accept the challenge and was amazed on how God used him and God had been working through him, ever since 40 people responded to the altar call in Juneau Alaska. Franklin saw the evangelical messages and his medical ministry through Samaritan’s purse as the perfect fit. He also finally became comfortable with being a Graham.
I see hope for my own kids in this story. The Bible teaches us that we need to teach our kids in the way that they should go and if they go astray, later they will return to the Lord. This is true in Franklin’s life. It will also be true in the lives of my kids. They are not going drastically going astray, but they need to be led to personal faith and personal mission and to have passionate hearts to follow Jesus. Through reading this book I have renewed hope for my sons, Augustine and Mark and my daughters. I want to also follow Billy and Ruth’s parenting style of offering up unconditional support and prayers and never letting go of hope.
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