George Beverly Shea

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;

therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him.” 

Psalm 28:7 (Bev's life verse)

This afternoon I found myself attending the funeral of a man I had never met.  For the past two years I have lived just down the road from George Beverly Shea.  His celebration service was held within walking distance of my house.  So, I went.  And it made me wish I had just taken the time to walk down to his house, knock on the door, and introduce myself.  Because not all giants of the faith are recorded in the Bible… some live just down the street.  And oh – what we can learn from those whose lives are focused on Jesus! 

 

George Beverly Shea died this past week at the age of 104.  He was a close friend of Billy Graham for 70 years.  Before Billy preached, Bev sang – and it was mentioned this afternoon that Billy Graham once said, “I’d rather hear Bev sing than anyone else in the whole world.”

 

It’s no wonder.  His voice was incredible.  I almost teared up listening to the recordings of it during the service today.  But – it was more than just his voice.  Bev loved Jesus – and it showed up in his songs, his interactions with others, and his entire life. 

When he was younger, Bev found the poem “I’d Rather Have Jesus” by Rhea F. Miller on his piano and came up with a tune for it.  Here’s a recording of Bev singing it in 1965. 

 

But look at the words:

“I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause

I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause

I’d rather have Jesus than world-wide fame

I’d rather be true to His holy name.”

Although he won a Grammy (1965) and a Lifetime Achievement Grammy (2011), composed many songs, recorded more than 70 albums and sang hundreds of concerts, fame was not the focus of Bev’s heart.

Here are some of the comments made during the service:

·         In the opening prayer, Richard White stated that if all we did was talk about Bev “…that would be to miss the point of his life.” 

·         “He was a big, strong man – but he was strong in heart…a Gentle Giant.”

·         “He loved life, loved people, and loved laughter because he loved the Lord.”

·         “When we get to heaven, something about Jesus’ face will seem familiar to us because of Bev…”

·         “Without Jesus, Bev may well have been a singer, but not one of eternal significance.”

·         David Bruce got up and shared about a song called “The Longer I Serve Him” that Bev sang.  It was written by the Gaithers after an older woman (I believe Gloria Gaither’s mother) was asked at the end of her life whether it was worth serving Jesus, she replied, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.”   David Bruce added that it seems that the longer people serve Jesus, the sweeter they grow.  Look at this video of Bev last year at the age of 103.

 

This was a precious man.  And he was precious because he spent his life serving a precious Savior.  The point of his life was to point others to the Lord Jesus Christ.    

What a life!  Whether we live to be 104 years old or only 20 – may we find our significance in an unwavering focus on Jesus.  Then, truly, our funeral service will be called a celebration.