Murder, but Not Divorce
Pressures are exerted all through life to make us want to
lie down and quit. The most spiritual person in the world is
tempted to get discouraged. I remember seeing a television
interview with Billy Graham and his delightfully honest
wife, Ruth. The host, David Frost, said something like, "So
you two pray together and read the Bible together on a
regular basis. But tell me the truth, Mrs. Graham: In all
these years of living with Billy, have you never had
problems or disagreements? Have you never even once
contemplated divorce?"
"Not once," she fired back. "Murder, a few times-but not
divorce!"
Obviously, there are challenges to overcome even in the
Billy Graham home. You and I have our share of difficulties,
but the most important thing is to finish our lives still
trusting God, as the evangelist and his wife are doing.
In fact, the greatest battle on earth has not been fought on
the Normandy beaches or on Iwo Jima or in the Persian Gulf.
Rather, it has raged inside your heart and mine: the battle
to believe. The just not only must begin by faith but
continue to live by it as well (Romans 1:17). Faith is as
essential to everyday living as it is to initial salvation.
As Athanasius, the early church father, said, "I can do
nothing without the help of God, and that from moment to
moment; for when, so long as we are on the earth, is there a
single instant in which we can say we are safe from
temptation or secure from sin?"' Only God's grace can keep
us, and that grace is activated by faith. .
Cymbala, Jim. Fresh Faith. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan,
1999, p. 116, 117.