Today is the official national day of mourning for former president Jimmy Carter, I think, the most outspoken Christian president we’ve had. And because he was a Democrat, there are fellow believers who don’t recognize that. A friend of mine was pastoring in rural Pennsylvania in the late 1970s, early 1980s. When Ronald Reagan was elected, one of his parishioners said, “Finally! A Christian in the White House.” You mean Jimmy Carter doesn’t count?

Reflect with me on a life well lived.

From left: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin

President Carter served as our commander in chief for four years, but he served as the beloved, unassuming Sunday school teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia for 40. And his humble devotion leaves us little doubt which of those two important roles he prized the most. – Senator Mitch McConnell, R, KY.

President Carter taught all of us what it means to live a life of grace, dignity, justice and service. – Former President Barak Obama

President Carter always upheld the dignity and worth of everyone, even black people in the segregated South:

Growing up a racial integrationist in the Deep South, he was a theologically conservative Christian with a liberal political platform...Carter’s childhood set him up to challenge categories. By many measures, Plains, Georgia, was a typical Southern town during the Great Depression. The area was not prosperous, and Carter grew up in a home without running water, electricity, or insulation...Not long into a promising career in the US Navy as an nuclear submarine engineer, Carter defied his young wife’s wishes and his superiors’ aspirations for him. He returned to Plains as a peanut farmer...He courageously served on the Sumter County Board of Education as the civil rights movement ramped up, working to equalize and integrate the public schools...In fact, Carter was put under immense pressure to join the White Citizens’ Council in the wake of the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision in 1955. A group of men implored Carter at his warehouse, telling him that every white male adult in the community had joined except him. Despite the threat of a boycott against his business, an angry Carter took a $5 out of his pocket and said, “I’ll take this and flush it down the toilet, but I am not going to join the White Citizens’ Council.” – David R. Schwartz, Died: President Jimmy Carter, Politician, Peanut Farmer, and Christian, Christianity Today, December 29, 2024

As President, he lived his faith out:

Carter seemed like a model of moral rectitude compared to the foul-mouthed Lyndon B. Johnson and the corrupt Richard Nixon. – David R. Schwartz

Carter possessed a sincere Christian faith that shaped his foreign policy. As just one example, in 1979, during a private meeting with South Korean leader Park Chung Hee, Carter took time to share the gospel with the befuddled military dictator. This earned him a scolding editorial from The New York Times but speaks to Carter’s genuine piety. He similarly spoke of his faith to Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping while urging the communist nation to allow Bibles, open churches, and welcome missionaries. – William Inboden, World Magazine, December 31, 2024

He was President of the United States, but his biggest impact was his 44 years of service AFTER he was president.

His post-presidential career has needed very little rehabilitation. Carter, described by biographer Randall Balmer as a “restless man, consumed by a kind of frenetic benevolence,” has been a strong supporter of Habitat for Humanity, which grew out of Koinonia Farm. The Carter Center, which he founded shortly after leaving office, has sought to confront human rights violations, eradicate disease, and reconcile warring parties in Haiti, Guyana, Ethiopia, Korea, and Serbia. His efforts won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. – David R. Schwartz

He was not just a “strong supporter” of Habitat for Humanity, he helped put it on the map. After he was president, he was actively involved, building 4,300 houses. This article from CBS News is worth the read in its entirety. He built his last Habitat house in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2019. He was 95 years old at the time.

A genuine common man, he always lived in his modest home, resisted the temptation to exploit his office for personal gain, and taught an adult Sunday school class at his local Baptist church into his final years. A friend of mine tells a touching story of visiting the Carters a few years ago at their church, followed by a simple lunch at the Carter home, where the former president made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for his guest. – William Inboden

As I wrote about Tony Campolo, I don’t have to agree with everything Jimmy Carter said and did to recognize him as a Christian brother who not only “cared” about the poor, he actually did something. A man who lived his faith in Jesus out.

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will answer them, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25.34 – 40, ESV)

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (James 1.22, NIV)