Within the space of three weeks, two of the world’s more prominent thought leaders, certainly during the 1970s, 80s and 90s, passed to the other side of eternity.
Other than education, the two areas of study I have been most interested in since I left high school have been science and theology. A university degree in biological sciences (with a fair smattering of other disciplines mixed in for good measure) and an adult life time reading (and in recent days, listening to) theology, point to my particular interest in the two men I allude to above.
Theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, and Christian evangelist, Billy Graham, were both men whom I had more than a passing interest in.
When I was in senior high school, my youth group leader left suburban Sydney to be a member of Hawking’s team at Cambridge. When I visited Paul there a few years later, he took me on a tour of the lab, and Hawking’s office. A believer, Paul’s research interest focused on the time t=0.000000000001 seconds (that’s a very short time!) after the beginning of the universe. His was, not surprisingly, a lone voice in that research group.
My grandfather was one of the businessmen involved in facilitating the 1959 Billy Graham crusades in Australia. The photo seen here was of Billy preaching at the 1959 Sydney crusade. Papa had an on-stage speaking role every night of that crusade – he was the crusade’s Prayer Coordinator. Papa passed away in 1987, but Billy still wrote to Nana every year until she passed in 2006.
Here are some sample quotes of their reflections on God, life, the world and our eternal destiny:
On LIFE:
Stephen Hawking: Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.
Billy Graham: God has given us two hands, one to receive with and the other to give with.
On GOD:
Stephen Hawking: Not only does God play dice, but… he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.
Billy Graham: God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ’I love you.’
On ETERNITY:
Stephen Hawking: My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.
Billy Graham: I am not going to Heaven because I have preached to great crowds or read the Bible many times. I’m going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: ‘Lord, remember me.’
For different reasons, I was saddened to hear the news of each man’s passing. For one of the two, there was eternal hope as he looked forward to life beyond this world – my sense of loss was in not having the blessing of his wisdom continuing any longer. For the other, my sadness was borne out of sorrow because he exhibited an ever-growing sense of futility and hopelessness and a greater disconnect with his maker, whom he refused to even acknowledge.
As life went on, for each man, there was a great sense of their own mortality expressed; this was evidenced in their public utterances, and in their reflections on the way modern society expresses itself. A simple Google search of each man’s quotes will paint this picture very clearly for you.
In the end, their relationship with the creator of the world, the God of the universe – how they saw themselves in the light of his revelation to the world in the person of Jesus and through the truths expressed in the pages of the Bible – will be their defining point for eternity. For one, eternity in complete relationship with God; for the other, eternity devoid of this.
As I consider my own mortality and the everlasting implications of the decisions I make about the way I relate to God as creator of the universe, I take great comfort in the wonderfully simple words of Billy Graham, found in his whimsical reflection on the truth of 1 John 2:25,
I’ve read the last page of the Bible. It’s all going to turn out all right.
educating 4 life, too 
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