So how will he be remembered ? As the ‘Great Disturber’, the ‘Great Appeaser’, a ‘Bombastic Bully’, a ‘Passionate Peacemaker or the ‘Fallible Forgetter’ given his inability to remember calling Volodoymyr Zelensky a dictator?
Or what about the ‘Enchanting Entertainer’ in the light of his observation that his explosive encounter with him would make great television.
For me Mr Trump is the ‘Great Reminder’ because of something he said during his inauguration speech last January. Recalling that dramatic event he commented “I thought then, and I believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”
As I’ve pondered those powerful words (and I can assure you I have done so quite a few times since he uttered them) I have been reminded of two important truths found in the book he seems so keen to promote. Although I don’t find the version he is marketing all that appealing. I’m referring of course to the ‘God bless America Bible’.
First and foremost, Trump was clearly suggesting that God had influenced the direction of the bullet that failed to kill him. I have no problem believing God could and possibly did do that, although I think the reason he gave is little more debatable! But it was his use of the word ‘saved’ that really caught my attention. The God of the Bible is definitely in the ‘saving business’ although it has to be stressed in a much more wonderful way than Mr Trump was describing.
Now I have no idea if Mr Trump is a genuine believer; only he knows that. But I would assume that he is aware that the Christian faith focuses on the theme of salvation. This is why the angel of the Lord told Joseph to call his son Jesus: He was the one destined to save His people from their sins.
Put simply that means that flawed people like Mr Trump and the rest of us can know God’s forgiveness and receive the gift of eternal life. Having said that though it is vitally important to understand that salvation means much more than that. It also includes the promise that God will set us free from the power of sin so that we are able to behave increasingly like Jesus who was full of grace and truth.
Christians are expected to live in such a way that it is obvious that they are being ‘saved’. If they don’t, they face the prospect of ending up like a real estate developer who discovered to his dismay that he had built his house on sand not on a solid foundation, and It came crashing down during a fierce storm. You don’t have to take my word for it because Jesus came up with that illustration. As always actions speak louder than words and behaviour more than verbal declarations.