“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” —Colossians 3:2-4
On the 50th episode of Cissie Graham Lynch’s Fearless podcast, she shared one of the most valuable lessons she ever learned from her grandfather, Billy Graham—the importance of a heavenly mindset.
While driving in her car recently, Lynch’s mind flooded with worries that stemmed from watching and reading the news.
“My goodness, Lord, the waves are so intense,” she prayed, thinking of her children and fearing for their future. She was gutted by the following thought: Was I as a mother going to be able to raise them to be unashamed of the Gospel?
“This heaviness came over me,” Lynch said.
That’s when she knew she needed to get back to the basics, reflecting on the foundation of her own family and how she was raised.
Continuing her Legacy series, which focuses on lessons and wisdom gained from her grandparents, Billy and Ruth Graham, and her parents, Franklin and Jane Graham, Lynch thought back to conversations she overheard from her grandparents.
“I could never understand, especially growing up, when my grandparents or their friends would say, ‘Please Jesus, come back,'” Lynch said. “When you’re a young person, you don’t really understand that concept. You have a lot of life you want to live.
Born in 1986, Lynch is a millennial. She acknowledges that many times, her peers aren’t very future-oriented.
“I think millennials and younger generations tend to live for the here and now. We have our phone and everything is at quick access. I can have my groceries delivered to me in an hour. … We don’t think too far in advance.
“I can remember just wanting to get married and have kids, all the things you dream of. The thought of Jesus coming back—no, that would devastate my plans; I wanted to live life first.”
After her beloved grandfather passed away in 2018, Lynch was reminded of his quotes about heaven.
“Some day you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead, but don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.”
“Do I fear death? No. I look forward to death with great anticipation. I’m looking forward to seeing God face-to-face.”
“My home is in Heaven and I’m just passing through this world.”
Lynch’s grandfather didn’t just speak on heaven though. He longed for God’s kingdom, preaching and writing about such a place. His mind was not focused on the here and now, but eternity.
“[We are to] remember that … our citizenship is not as Americans, but our citizenship is in God’s kingdom,” Lynch said. “I look at this world around us and, of course, all the stress and the anxiety that we face … remember that Satan is always on the prowl.
“He attacks us with fear, he attacks us with the doubts, he attacks us with any thought that would keep us looking to the wonderful promises of the future. … He tries to keep us right there in that moment and maybe drowning in the things that are around us. … [But] we, as Christians, as believers in Jesus Christ, we are to focus on God’s kingdom.”
Until a few years ago, Lynch struggled to have a heavenly mindset. Now, she doesn’t allow Satan to distract her from God’s promises; she rests securely in God.
“We, as children of God, our inheritance cannot fade away,” said Lynch while mentioning her grandfather’s eagerness to meet Jesus, especially in his last days. “Our inheritance is reserved in heaven.
“My prayer is we as Christians don’t allow Satan to distract us,” Lynch concluded. “Satan is going to use the threats of the world to scare us, but we’ll keep our eyes focused on Jesus because that is our hope.”
