Billy Graham says death is not the end for terminally ill Christians

Famed evangelist Billy Graham encouraged terminally ill Christians not to give up on life and look at their situation from God's point of view so that they may realize that death is not the end for them.

In his advice column in the Bowling Green Daily News on Dec. 20, a terminally-ill woman told Graham that the doctors have predicted that this year's Christmas might be her last due to an inoperable tumor. She said that she is having a hard time trying to pretend like she's enjoying the holidays.

"How can anyone in my situation be cheerful at Christmas?" the woman who is known only as Mrs. L.L asked.

Graham encouraged the woman to try to change her attitude and look at her own life from God's point of view.

"How does God see you? He sees you first of all as someone He deeply loves. You are not insignificant; you aren't something for whom death is the end," the evangelist wrote.

"Listen: God loves you! He loves you so much that 2,000 years ago He came into this world in the person of His Son, so you could have your sins forgiven and go to be with Him in Heaven forever," he continued.

The evangelist invited the woman to turn to Christ and let him come into her life in case she has not done so.

He urged the woman to ask God to make her an instrument of His love and peace for the people around her. He pointed to the Bible verse in Romans 15:13 which stated, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him."

Graham, who celebrated his 98th birthday last month, was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1992. He retired in 2005, but he attended the re-dedication of the Billy Graham Library in 2010. An estimated 3.2 million people have come to accept Christ at his invitation during his rallies. He once told his son, Franklin, that he might live to be 100. His wife, Ruth, died in 2007 at the age of 87.