It wasn’t that long ago we had a president who stood up at the National Prayer Breakfast and chided Christians to “get off their high horses” because of the Crusades.
What you’re about to see is obviously a lot better than that. Donald Trump has been an ally of the Christian community in every way – from his support in legal battles over religious freedom to his advocacy on behalf of imprisoned pastors to his support for the unborn. He has even advocated for a relaxing of IRS regulations that could muffle pastors’ freedom of speech in the pulpit.
Trump consistently celebrates America’s faith traditions and upholds those who are part of it. He lauds those who engage in service to others in the name of Christ, and he speaks openly about the role of faith and prayer in the founding of the nation.
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The secular left is looking for ways to marginalize Christianity, and the Trump Administration has consistently been an ally in our defense. We couldn’t ask him to do much more for us.
But there was still something I was hoping to hear in this, and it didn’t show up:
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There’s no question the Christian community has an ally in the White House, every bit as much as we did during the Reagan and Bush 43 administrations. (I was never so sure about Bush 41.)
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The more interesting question is: Do we have a Christian in the White House?
Trump’s haters would obviously respond: Absolutely not. And they would point to the many moral abominations in Trump’s past as the clear and convincing truth.
Did you like the president's comments at the National Prayer Breakfast?
Some of those who became close to Trump during the 2016 campaign insist that he repented and accepted Christ during that period, and it’s not unreasonable to think he could have given a) the weight of the presidency and realization of the need for God when undertaking such a challenge; and b) the support he received from Christians in spite of his own personal failings.
I remember him on at least one occasion expressing gratitude for faith leaders for standing by him, and acknowledging that based on his own personal merit, he didn’t really deserve it.
But Trump did not take the occasion of this speech to give a personal testimony. He didn’t tell us about how Christ has changed his own heart or express any personal gratitude for what the Lord has done in his life. That would seem to be a natural thing for a man who had really found the saving grace of Christ after a life of such indulgence.
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Perhaps he felt he made it clear enough by implication, and perhaps he felt his role at the National Prayer Breakfast was not to make it about himself personally. Perhaps he was reluctant to acknowledge ever having needed any forgiveness, considering what his media foes would probably do with such an admission.
Any of that would be defensible, but it still would have been nice to hear the president of the United States acknowledge that Jesus Christ is his Lord and Savior, and give glory to God for all He has done for him.
I realize this is not the sort of thing that comes naturally for a lot of new Christians, and it’s the sort of personal humility that has never come naturally for Donald Trump. It may be that, even if Trump is saved, we’ll never hear anything like this from him.
But as it stands, the best we can do is thank God for giving us an ally in the White House, and pray that he doesn’t leave this world without first becoming, not just for us, but one of us.
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