by Dr. BILLY GRAHAM
as told to CURTIS MITCHELL
A letter came to me last Snring during-our cru-
sade in Melbourne, Australia, that read:
"There are hundreds of bodgies and widgies in
Melbourne with empty lives. Could you hold a
special bodgies-and-widgies meeting? I'm sure
your message would be of great value to all of us."
It was signed: "A converted bodgie."
In Australian terminology, a bodgie or widgie
is a teen-aged rebel and nonconformist I knew
that letter spoke for a great many other teen
agers. So I read it one night to my audience and
announced I would have a special message for all
young people the following Saturday night To
make sure there would be a response, I asked
each adult to bring at least one teen-ager.
I shall never forget that Saturday night Thirty
minutes before the meeting, the skies opened in a
veritable deluge. On the way to our outdoor
stadium, my car was stalled by high water. At the
stadium, duckboards had to be installed to serve'
as bridges between the audience and the platform.
Nevertheless, 45,000 attended and more than
30,000 of them were young people. At the end of
the service, more than 2,30095 percent of them
teen-agers came forward.
Next day, a black headline in the Melbourne
Sun-Herald proclaimed: "TEEN-AGERS PRAY
IN MUD."
This is a growing tide, this youthful concern
about religion. Throughout the free world, young
people are seeking a creed to believe and a song to
sing. Everywhere I go I find it is the young people
who are leading the way. And they ask penetrat
ing, personal questions.
One day while I was sunning myself on a beach
in Australia, a group of young people gathered
around. Presently, they were questioning me. One
bronzed youth asked: "Is it possible to be a Chris
tian and have fun?"
Too often young people outside the church have
seen only a caricature of true religion, not the
vitality that characterizes the enthusiasm of the
first disciples.
Let's examine that word "enthusiasm." It comes
From all over the world have come these questions from youths
seeking a creed to live by; here are this noted evangelist's answers
from two words: "en" which means in, and "theo"
meaning God. Hence, enthusiasm means "God in
you." Imagine the enthusiasm of a musician who
felt that Beethoven's spirit lived in him, or the
artist who believed he possessed Rembrandt's
great spirit.
The Apostle Paul felt this enthusiasm when he
said, "I can do all things through Christ which
strength eneth me." Yes, you can have fun. Joining
hands with God can be a thrilling, exciting ex
perience. Thousands of young people I know will
back me up.
A girl among the Australian teen-agers asked
another question: "If I get religion, will it interfere
with my career?"
We live in a practical world, and if our beliefs
threaten our means of making a livelihood, we
should indeed count the cost. Assuming that you
choose a legitimate career, being religious should
.increase your chance of success, not lessen it. It
certainly did not hurt John Wanamaker or J. C.
Penney. We must not convey the impression that
religion makes one more prosperous, for profits
can be spiritual and moral as well as financial.
The point is that we should be good stewards of
whatever gifts God gives us.
Several years ago, I encountered a young Indian
scholar who had studied Marx and Lenin. He
demanded: "But can the Bible give me a workable
philosophy of life?"
It is the only workable philosophy.
I remember a letter from an ex-Communist who
wrote, "During your first visit to England I was
among those who opposed you. At that time, I
was secretary of the Communist party. I have had
a complete change of heart As chairman of the
Crusade Committee for Reading, I will be working
as earnestly for you now as I did against you."
I remember the young woman at one of our
London meetings several years ago who was at
loose ends and a Communist sympathizer. Where
the teachings of Marx and Lenin had failed to
answer her problems, those of the Holy Bible
succeeded. Today she is on our evangelistic team.
Popularity has become an obsession with many
young Americans. I encountered it among stu
dents at Yale, Princeton, and other universities.
Undergraduates usually put it this way: "Billy,
won't being converted make me unpopular with
the gang?"
I believe that a truly religious way of life is
almost certain to increase one's popularity. Here
is a letter I received from a youth who called him
self a confirmed introvert:
"When I went to hear you preach, I met some
fellows who acted as though they had found some
thing, and they weren't smug about it, either. One
night I felt an impulse to yield my life to God,
which I did. A surprising change came over me. I
had a new love and interest for people. At school
I began to make friends. My life has taken a new,
rich turn."
Two years ago, I heard this from a Mexican
teen-ager: "I'm all for religion, but will I still get
a kick out of life?"
What kind of kick does one seek? I once had
dinner with a man who lived in a 200 -room house.
He was a music lover and scattered through his
house were 40 pianos. But with all that potential
music around him, he couldn't play the piano. His
money could not buy the ability to make music.
To me, that is a parable of life. If, in our striving
for the material, we fail to find the music in our
selves, we have failed in our chief quest
But the one question asked by more people in
more places , than any other is: "Will being a
Christian really bring me happiness?"
If, by happiness, a person means good fortune,
I offer no encouragement. Righteous people ex
perience poverty, sickness, and tragedy in about
the same proportion as others. The Bible says
"God sends the rain on the just and the unjust"
But if happiness means blessed, then truly re
ligious persons have a built-in ability to take
whatever life offers because they believe that "all
things work together for good to them that love
God." Their bouyancy is not an innovation of their
own; it is a strength given of God.
JulyS. ItM
IEOMAKD S. DAVIOOW I'midrnt end PuUMer
WAITH C MEYFUS Vict-President
FATMCK I. OVOMKE Advrrtiin Oirrrlor
Sand oil advertising communication to
Family Weekly, 153 N. Midi loan Ave., Chicago 1. III.
Addree all communication about editorial feature to
Family Weakly, 60 E. 96th St., Ntw York 33. N. T.
lfJ, FAMHY WEEKIY MAGAZINE. INC., 153 N.
card of Editor EtNEST V. MEYN Editor-inChiei
EN KAITMAN Executive Kditor
tOMIT FfTZCUftOM Mmmtim Kditar
tAlrtt J. FINCH, JR. AH Dinrtor
MEIANIE DE PKOfT Food Kditor
Jock ftjran, Kevin Brown, Honor Singer, Bab Drticoll,
Jerry Klein; Peer Oppenheimer, Hollywood.
Michigan Ave., Chicago 1, III. All right reierved.