While 99-year-old evangelist Billy Graham can no longer see or hear very well, his mind is "still good" and "clear," the Baptist pastor's son, Franklin Graham, has revealed.
"He's at home, he's resting well - he's just old. He doesn't see well, he doesn't hear very well but his mind is still good, his mind is still clear," Franklin, 65, said of his father during a recent interview with Fox & Friends.
The younger Graham also said that throughout his decades-long ministry, his father's goal wasn't fame or riches; rather, it was to share the Good News of the Gospel
"My father, all of his life, never veered from the calling God gave him - that was to preach the Gospel. To tell man and woman about a God that loves them and that is willing to forgive their sin if they're willing to repent, turn from their sin and by faith to believe on the name of Jesus Christ that God would save them and heal their heart and that they would have that hope for eternity of being with Him in Heaven," he testified. "I'm very grateful to his faithfulness, to his message."
Billy Graham, who celebrated his 99th birthday in November, currently resides in Montreat, North Carolina and continues to enjoy "visits from family members, including his sister who is his only remaining sibling," Franklin earlier shared.
He added, "His pastor, Dr. Don Wilton from Spartanburg, South Carolina, continues to visit weekly which means so much. This has been a tradition of prayer and encouragement for more than 20 years- we are so grateful to Pastor Wilton."
Franklin said his father "still today" has his favorite Bible verse pinned up on the wall in his bedroom, "printed in VERY large letters."
"In fact, it's in the dining room, his bathroom, and several other spots around the house! Back before his 95th birthday, he was working on a sermon based on this key Scripture. It was his passion to memorize it, to saturate his heart and mind with it. He made it his life verse."
The verse, Franklin said, is Galatians 6:14: "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
Last year, Billy Graham's daughter, Anne Graham-Lotz, shared that her father is confined mostly to his bed and wheelchair but he still has a clear mind. She also noted he is still "affectionate and loving."
"I am not sure he is aware so much of the world's situation but his appetite is good, his vital signs are good, and I know God is holding him for some reason," Lotz said. "In fact, he prays in his preaching voice. He is still kicking. Maybe that will encourage you to be faithful through persevering in the ministry to which God has called you."
70 years ago, Billy Graham founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association with the sole mission of "proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to all we can by every effective means available and by equipping the church and others to do the same."
