Carter the Peacemaker

I was a teenager in the 1960's. We baby-boomers were coming of age during that troubled decade, wanting to experience life to the fullest extent possible, and yet being drafted into an Asian war. In the midst of all that noise and confusion, a president was assassinated; another president felt so troubled that he chose not to seek a second term. Another president was driven out of office after his criminal activity was exposed and prosecuted. Another president was appointed instead of being elected. Gerald Ford was a decent guy; he served well as caretaker of the Oval office and this nation, until the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976. America was crying out for stability, for decency, for honesty and integrity. Jimmy Carter stepped into the Oval office as a man of sincere faith and honesty, just when we needed a leader who could call for the anchor of integrity to be cast into the troubled waters of the 1970's. President Carter was a true evangelical Christian; he was not afraid to speak, boldly, his testimony of faith, even to an interviewer from the nation's most widely circulated girlie magazine. Carter literally fulfilled the Christ-mandated role of Peacemaker. Having invited Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David, he guided them into a peace agreement that lasted for a while, until other leaders later fell again into the quagmire of bellicose behavior. In his last address to the nation, President Carter explained: "The struggle for human rights over-rides all differences of color, or nation or language. Those who hunger for freedom, who thirst for human dignity, and who suffer for the sake of justice - they are the patriots of this cause. I believe with all my heart that America must always stand for these basic human rights, at home and abroad. That is both our history and our destiny." As President Carter's term was expiring, his strenuous efforts to resolve the Iranian hostage crisis resulted in a last minute release that was completed as his successor, President Reagan, accepted the mantle of Presidency. In post-Presidency retirement, Jimmy Carter put his old tool belt on again and returned to building houses for people who needed them.

Carter's Habitat for HumanityPresident Jimmy Carter was an outspoken Christian, a patriot, and a Nobel laureate. But more importantly, he was a true Peacemaker in the sense of that word that Christ had spoken in his sermon on the mount, Matthew 25. During his time at the nation's helm, he worked earnestly to manifest, for every American, the privileges of our collective citizenship: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Today, the last day of 2024, I reflect on the legacy of Jimmy Carter, who passed from this life two days ago. He was a hundred years old. Now he enters the Heavenly realm, being led by the carpenter from Galilee who conquered death. I look forward to meeting brother Jimmy Carter when Jesus Christ accepts me, likewise, into our eternal home.  King of Soul