Evangelist Franklin Graham appeared on former Rep. Trey Gowdy’s “Sunday Night in America” this weekend and revealed some details about a new statue of his father, Rev. Billy Graham, in D.C.
The statue was unveiled Thursday in the National Statuary Hall Collection below the Rotunda in the Capitol, according to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
During the interview, Graham revealed some details about the statue that wouldn’t be obviously to anyone who simply saw photographs of the statue or news coverage of the unveiling.
Gowdy pointed out the honor Billy Graham had received as “a private citizen who never held political office” who nevertheless “now has a statue in Statuary Hall.”
The elder Graham was known for his humility, so Gowdy wondered what his reaction to all of the publicity would have been.
“Trey, he’d be a little uncomfortable, to be honest with you,” Graham replied. “Because he would not the attention to be drawn to him. He would want the attention to go to the One that my father served. and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. He’d want all the attention to go to Him.”
Graham revealed, however, that the statue had been designed and crafted to point viewers to Christ.
“What I like about this statue is my father is standing there with an open Bible and his hand on the Scriptures,” he said. “And the Scripture on the open Bible — I’m not sure if it was engraved, but I know what the reference was, and that’s Galatians 6:14, where the Bible says, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
Graham explained that his father had hoped to preach his last message on that passage, but was never able to.
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The pedestal itself contains two Bible verses from the gospel of John, one on either side and both, as the BGEA pointed out, “referencing Jesus Christ as the only way to eternal life.”
On one side are written the words of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
On the opposite side are Jesus’ words from John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Graham said the back of the pedestal contained what his father had wanted on his tombstone: “Preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Trey said his headstone was a testament to the elder Graham’s humility, a trait he shared with Christ himself.
According to the BGEA, the 7-foot likeness of Billy Graham was sculpted by Charlotte artist Chas Fagan.
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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of “WJ Live,” powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English as well as a Master’s in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
