“I’m Billy Graham’s granddaughter. Evangelical support of Donald Trump spits on his legacy.” USA Today Op-ed. I’ve seen it multiple times and the article isn’t even 24 hours old.

It’s like catnip. Some people can’t help but share this article, sometimes even before they read it. Most of them are Christians. The question is, “Why do we click? Why do we share?”

There are “Trump-hating-Christians” and there are “Biden-hating-Christians”. There are Christians who hate Pelosi, Cruz, the Clintons (both of them), and Pence. They might tell you differently, but their posts betray them.

There are believers who are willing to believe the worst rumors of those they hate, even though they have never met the object of their vitriol. There are those who claim to follow Christ who drink heavily from the Hannity or Maddow steams of hatred.

They believe they are doing God’s work, the same God that inspired the words, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

These disciples of Christ gladly take words out of context, believe the worst, amplify it, and spew vile hatred all the while supposing they are standing on holy ground. And now they are standing with Billy Graham and accuse others of spitting on his legacy.

Let’s consider Rev. Graham’s legacy. He worked with, and counseled, every president from Truman to George W. Bush, and met with President Obama and soon-to-be Presidential candidate Trump. Democrats and Republicans; princes and scoundrels.

He met with, and ministered to, all of them. Even the one who brought prostitutes into the White House, or the one who ordered a break-in of the opposing party’s campaign headquarters. He did not pick and choose, because he knew that the ground at the foot of the cross is level.

Consider the environment of the church in the early 1960’s. This was a time when religious folks were very concerned about the possibility of a Catholic becoming president. After all, many evangelicals were preaching that the Pope was the Antichrist and that a Catholic president would do his bidding.

It was in this environment that Billy Graham, who many say personified the term “evangelical”, met with and befriended President John F. Kennedy. They met several times, and Billy always talked about Jesus. In his book “Just As I Am”, Graham recalls one moment of regret regarding JFK. The Baptist Press recounts Graham’s recollection of the morning he spoke at the National Day or Prayer Breakfast in February 1963.

“After the gathering, Kennedy and Graham walked out together toward the presidential motorcade on this particularly cold and snowy day. Suddenly the president stopped in his tracks, turned and invited Graham back to the White House so he could discuss something with him. But Graham was battling the flu. Fearing he’d make the president sick, he declined and asked if they could meet another time.”

“The president agreed it could wait for a more convenient occasion. But that moment never came. For Graham, this moment will forever stay with him. In his book he wrote, ‘His hesitation at the car door, and his request, haunt me still. What was on his mind? Should I have gone with him? It was an irrecoverable moment.’”

The legacy of Billy Graham should be the legacy of every Christian. Someone who regrets the missed opportunity to talk about Christ. Someone who gives people the benefit of the doubt. Someone who loves people despite what they have done. Someone who will work with a president even when the church calls them the servant of the Antichrist.

By the way, Franklin Graham tells us that Billy voted for President Trump in 2016 – but you don’t have to. There is no “election selection test” for entry into heaven.

But if you want to follow Christ, if you want to honor Billy Graham’s legacy, you do need to have the same attitude as Billy Graham who said, “I want you to know tonight one thing: God loves you. No matter how you’ve lived and no matter what the color of your skin; no matter what your racial background, no matter what language you speak – God loves you!”

And how can you hate someone that God loves?