Graham Says Library's Legacy is for Christ
Donna Russell
June 2, 2007
CBNNews.com - "I feel like I'm attending my own funeral." Those were the first words from Evangelist Billy Graham at the Library dedication in his honor today. Those present laughed out loud at the comments by Graham at the ceremony.
Graham also told those attending that he nor the library were to be the focus. "This building behind me is just a building. It's an instrument, a tool for the Gospel. The primary thing is the Gospel of Christ."
In speaking to the audience Graham also said that he missed his wife Ruth terribly and wished she could be at the Thursday ceremony because she deserves just as much credit for his ministry.
Ruth Graham, who has degenerative osteoarthritis of the back and neck, is bedridden and unable to attend.
For more on the Billy Graham Library and ministry, click on CBN's exclusive WEB EXTRAS to the right.
Dignitaries included former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Each president had kind words to say about Graham. They each told stories of how Graham impacted them personally and not just in the office of the presidency.
President Bush shed tears at different points as he spoke of his friend Billy Graham. He said that both Billy and Ruth Graham are dear to him and his wife Barbara.
President Clinton said that while he was President he prayed with Rev. Graham many times and felt that Graham was praying for him personally and not the president.
In remembering one of his first encounters with Graham, President Carter said that Billy Graham's insistence that a crusade in Georgia in the 1960's not be segregated made great strides at breaking racial barriers in his state.
The $27 million library is located miles from Graham's childhood home in the Charlotte, NC area.
Sources: CBNNews, Associated Press
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