"Almost the last chapter in the Bible describes what heaven will be like, and one of the things it tells us is that 'the great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass' (Revelation 21:21).
Although this is hard for us to imagine, it reminds us that heaven is far more glorious than anything we will ever know in this life." — billygraham.org
After a long, incredible life, evangelist Billy Graham finally knows if the streets of heaven are truly paved with gold. He passed away this morning at his home from natural causes at the age of 99. From a humble beginning on a dairy farm near Charlotte, North Carolina, to international fame, Graham's ministry reached a worldwide audience estimated to be over 2.2 billion people. Beginning in 1947, his traveling Billy Graham Crusades spanned the globe. He advised every president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama — and even Queen Elizabeth II sought an audience with him.
When I think of his life, I think of 1 Kings 3:14-15: "If you walk in My ways, keeping My statutes and commandments, as your father David walked, then I will prolong your days." Ninety-nine years definitely counts as prolonged!
I remember seeing him on television as a kid and to be honest, his message didn't exactly permeate my thick skull. I was too busy running around being a kid to sit down and listen to a man waving a Bible and preaching the gospel. But little did I know then that as an adult, his influence on another man's life would change mine deeply. And for that, I'm grateful today.
So who's the other man? Olympian and World War II veteran Louis Zamperini.
If Zamperini's name sounds familiar, it's because he was featured in the international bestselling book "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand (and later in a movie by the same name). After growing up humbly in Southern California, Zamperini ran in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and was on the cusp of being the first man to break the four-minute mile. But World War II interrupted that dream. Instead of chasing Olympic glory, he found himself serving as a bombardier on a B-24 Liberator bomber flying over the Pacific. After a crash and a long survival on a raft floating at sea, he was captured by the Japanese and taken to a POW camp near Tokyo. That's when he entered hell on earth. And the devil was a prison guard named Mutsuhiro Watanabe, also known as "The Bird."
The Bird beat Zamperini savagely and daily. Only a glimmer of faith and a strong will allowed him to survive until the end of the war. He came home to a hero's welcome and married the girl of his dreams. Then the wheels fell off. Zamperini started trying to drown his PTSD with alcohol. His anger and hatred began to eat at his soul. He was physically, mentally and spiritually devastated. The bottle and his own nightmares did what The Bird couldn't do. He was broken.
In 1949, Billy Graham held a crusade in a rented circus tent in Los Angeles. Zamperini's wife, Cynthia, who was in the process of filing for divorce, persuaded him to attend the first day's event. Louis walked out nearly immediately. Cynthia once again persuaded him to go back the next day. Graham was preaching about forgiveness. Louis thought about all the prayers he had made on the raft and how he had not kept his end of the bargain. He prayed for forgiveness. And then he began a long journey of forgiving those who had made his life a living hell.
Zamperini invited Christ into his life and dedicated his remaining days to helping others. He and Cynthia remained married and had a family. Zamperini and Billy Graham became close friends.
PHOTOS: Remembering Rev. Billy Graham
In 1950, Zamperini visited a Tokyo prison holding several of his former prison guards. He forgave them. In 1998, Zamperini returned to Japan once again to be a torchbearer at the Nagano Winter Games. He offered to meet The Bird, who was thought to be dead but had resurfaced, but Watanabe refused to meet with him. Zamperini forgave him anyway.
Louis Zamperini died July 2, 2014, at 97 of pneumonia after a long and fruitful life.
If Zamperini can forgive a man who beat him daily, I can forgive those who have slighted me. Forgiveness is the ultimate freedom. It freed Zamperini from his own prison. It can free us from ours.
So today, I pause to thank a man who changed another man whose example changed me. Angels work in indirect and funny ways. Godspeed, Billy Graham. May you find an eternity with streets paved with gold.