Honoring President Jimmy Carter

 

Yesterday I watched President Jimmy Carter’s funeral service. It deeply moved me. I remember when he ran for president and used the term “born again” to describe who he was. It amazed me to hear someone running for president use a term that was so much a part of my life. I also heard the scoffing and the not so subtle reactions to his Christianity. President Carter didn’t fit the Presidential role. He wanted to be called “Jimmy”, not “James”. He wanted to be seen as the boy from Georgia, complete with his Southern accent and slow demeanor. He wanted to make a point about his Christianity that others before him hadn’t made. He was different.

I had been raised Republican, so Carter was also a disappointment in my family and world. My first experience voting had been for Nixon’s second term. That debacle ended in my disillusionment of politics in general, and Republicans specifically. I liked Gerald Ford, but understood why Carter had won. I found it interesting that a person’s faith figured liberally into my parent’s political choices, as long as they were Republican. But Jimmy Carter’s sincerity and depth in his beliefs didn’t seem to matter to them. They did to me.

Over the years, Jimmy Carter so impressed me with his post-presidency life and service. He lived out his Christianity is such vivid ways. He concerned himself with being a peace maker, a help giver and a humankind lover. He not only claimed he was a born again Christian, he lived a life that demonstrated what that oft-used phrase truly means. He walked as Jesus’ walked.

Eulogy after eulogy yesterday spoke to this. We’d all witnessed his goodness, but I was overwhelmed by how everyone attributed his actions to his faith. No one tried to say Jimmy Carter was just a good man, even though he certainly was. They all said Jimmy Carter was a man of faith who sought to live his life as such. All of his countless acts of mercy and love were the results of a man filled with God’s Spirit and power.

God knew and loved and molded this man, Jimmy Carter. God had great and surprising plans for this simple man from Plains Georgia. He raised him up to become President of the United States, and with the power of that office, laid the way for even more years of service to the poor and disenfranchised in America and around the world. And Carter always gave the glory of his successes to God. God opened doors for Carter to go through, and Carter went through and made a difference in every space.

What an incredible legacy. The things he did in his life were amazing in and of themselves, but to hear everyone tie those acts to his faith and trust in God – beyond incredible.  In the course of an hour or so, the entire watching world was reminded of the real power behind Jimmy Carter’s life. They also heard through messages and scripture, how to have that same power. It wasn’t about being President of the United States, it was about being a child of God.

It was not lost on me, and probably not lost on many at that service, that Carter was an exception. Two rows of past, present and newly elected Presidents came to honor President Carter. Lots of people in positions of power, including the present lineup, have claimed to be Christian. But it must be so difficult to have that much power and remember “without Christ we are nothing.”  Jimmy Carter didn’t just give word service to his beliefs. He lived his faith every day.

Christianity isn’t about good works.  We can all do good things. But what prompts those acts? How consistent are we in our acts of service? Jimmy Carter knew that good works didn’t make him a Christian. Belief in the forgiving power of Jesus Christ powered Jimmy Carter’s acts, not vice versa. And Christ’s power in Carter was seen in Carter’s consistent character – a person of honesty, compassion, mercy, kindness. Several people quoted Micah 6:8 “He has shown you O Mortal what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Another fitting Scripture would be Galatians 5:22 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control.”  Both passages reflect President Jimmy Carter.

I finished watching that service with a desire to more purposefully pray for our leaders. Not all of them are Christians, not even some who might think they are. But they all need our prayers. They need good counsel and wise people who will stand for truth in the face of power. Our country needs God’s guidance and direction. That won’t come through the enactment of external laws or regulations. It will only come through people who have truly been “born again”, opening up their lives to serve God and be his heart and hands in our world.

The term “born again” has been abused and battered through the years. Being imperfect sinners, many of us “born againers” have confused and angered the world around us. We sometimes find it embarrassing to be associated with people who call themselves “born again” and act in ways Jesus would not. Yesterday I was proud to be part of the family of believers.

Jimmy Carter was a gift from God to our country. We mostly didn’t recognize it, especially while he was in office. However, his legacy is solid. This “born again” Christian from Georgia had made a difference. His witness to the Power and Glory of God still follows.