WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY ON THE DAY HE DIES?

WHAT IS APPROPRIATE TO SAY ABOUT A FELLOW CHRISTIAN ON THE DAY HE DIES?  Some people think it is suitable to denigrate his memory on the day he dies. On the day he dies is my point.  We're not speaking about a madman or a money launderer or a serial rapist. It would be entirely apt to recite his transgressions one minute after he bites it. I'm talking about an upright man whose entire life was devoted to God. What would be appropriate to say about him on the day he died? Be clear, this is not an hypothetical personality. I refer to someone whose 99 years of earth life were spent talking to God, and to people who loved God and to people who did not know God but would. What 's fitting to say about him on the day he died? If the person making the post mortem comment hates God, then anything goes. Say what you want about the deceased. But if the commenter is a child of God and a good brother has died, would the right time to point out all of the brother's alleged bad stuff be on the day he died? Why am I asking this question here? 

This is what some Christians posted on the day Billy Graham died this week.

"This is very sad, and especially so when you read of so many within the Christian community who feel that he was sound in his theology. He did not simply make a few errors within his theology; his entire ministry was based on anything but the pure truth of the Word of God. Anyone who can write a book entitled "How To Be Born Again" is far from the truth of Jesus' description of regeneration.”

You saw the line that I highlighted I’m sure, or what was the point? 

Oh, and they have said much worse than that.  Or, they have checked out from being original and merely pasted in a link so that every curious reader goes to a site belonging to someone else. Or they just cast some doubts on an area of Billy’s theology with which they profoundly disagree, or some comment he made within a peculiar context or when he was older or confused or mistaken. And to what end? Slanderous articles like those posted on the day he died, did what? Thousands of people from many ethnic communities welcome Billy in Heaven this week or will join him when their time to cross over occurs. There is a time to analyze, dissect, publicly challenge the man, before his death or some respectable time after his death ... but not mere hours after he has realized the promise of Christ that he has shared with all who would listen to him. 

My Poor Books

A NEW LEARNING
Of the making of books there should be an end. For pastors of my generation the gathering of books was critical to the craft of sermon preparation and training others. I spent a lifetime assembling my library and I had the good fortune to pastor churches that provided a substantial book allowance. Eighteen years ago we made the big move from Toronto to Cloverdale, British Columbia. The moving company that transported our possessions under-guestimated the weight of my books and failed to charge me enough. Seven years ago my professional next move meant I no longer enjoyed the luxury of a church office with bookshelves sufficient to house my library. The books couldn't fit in our home. Many books remained in boxes in our garage for the six years I have served in an executive position for our denomination. This past August at the completion of my term and as I moved into retirement, I brought several hundred Bible commentaries to my home den/studio and also began to address what I could do with the remaining hundreds of books in the garage. The Salvation Army and other stores took some. Used bookstores don't have shelf space. Libraries don't want my books. My own children are not interested beyond the few volumes I have already forced upon them. I began to make contact with several younger pastors with a view to assisting them to build their own libraries. There was some interest but I found that young pastors have CD libraries of resource material. I have Stanley's 1860 published chronicle of his location of David Livingston in Africa, but that book and the rest of my space hungry collection is not attactive to people any longer. One of my personal retirement realities is that I cannot keep my entire library and it is of little value to others.