Billy Graham Addresses ‘CEO Christians’

With Easter coming up, Christmas/Easter Only Christians, or CEOs, are pulling out their Sunday best for the services.

Some families will darken the pews for the one of two times a year they visit church. If you asked them, they’d say they consider themselves believers. Does the Christian faith require you to be in church every Sunday? 

One reader asked Billy Graham: “I admit I’ve always been kind of a ‘Christmas and Easter’ Christian, since those seem to be the only times I manage to make it to church. What would you say to someone like me?” 

Wise as always, Graham responded:

The first thing I’d say is that I’m glad you at least make it to church twice a year! Even if God and church don’t mean very much to you right now, at least they must mean something—and in our increasingly secular age, this is noteworthy.

But I’m also glad for another reason: God could use these two days to speak to you and give you a new understanding of His love for you. You see, God may not be very important to you—but you are of infinite importance to Him! Once you discover this truth, your life will never be the same.

How do I know this? I know it first of all because of what happened on that first Christmas over 2,000 years ago: God came to earth in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Do you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus Christ, for He was God in human form. The Bible says, “No one has seen God at any time. The only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known” (John 1:18). 

But I also know God loves you and you are important to Him because of what happened that first Easter. By His death, Jesus Christ took upon Himself the judgment we deserve for our sins, and by His resurrection He opened heaven’s door for us. May this Easter season be life-changing for you, as you discover how much God loves you, and you open your heart and life to Jesus Christ. {eoa}