By James Wilson
I have been quite vocal in my conviction the American people, and especially American Christians, have for too long accepted whatever bone was thrown their way by the bosses in both parties. I have trumpeted my commitment to vote for neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton inasmuch as neither regarded for God or the Constitution, both have stoked the culture of rage, and each is the creation of the power brokers.
I have asked the prayer teams I coordinate in thirty-two California counties to pray for what Christians call a Damascus Road experience in all our leaders – always beginning with ourselves – and Trump has had one. What is that?
Before Paul of Tarsus wrote one quarter of the New Testament and established the Body of Christ amongst non-Jewish believers he was the self-styled enemy of believers known as Saul of Tarsus. While enroute to Damascus to arrest Christians he experienced profound encounter with the Risen Jesus Christ. He was apparently knocked on his backside for this intimate conversation. From that point on he became the principal disciple and apostle of God in Christ until his death in Rome. How do I know Trump – who has publicly disparaged Christians and their God – has entertained such an experience?
Before answering my question let me explain its relevance.
There is nothing inherently good, competent, or presidential about a candidate professing Christ. Actually, there are few less worthy office seekers than those who project spiritual arrogance and – God knows – many Christians fail the smell test of smug self-satisfaction. Yet those who fully embrace Christ, showing the fruit of authentic repentance, ultimately emerge with a transformed worldview. This repentant worldview is understood as re-focus on God, rep-membrance our called out human identity, and re-dedication of heart to celebration and submission to the Lord who came to provide abundant life for all. That would be all.
Worldview is no mere window on soul and spirit; it shapes a person’s character and personality. No one – including the person assessed – knows that person’s answer to each question or address for every crisis to come. But worldview will shape those answers and addresses. If I want to vote for a candidate I need first to know not where he was educated or how intelligent and experienced he is, but what are his primal values. Has he the courage to swim upstream? Does he revere human life at every stage? A leader who swallows the prevailing narrative about global warming despite overwhelming evidence against it is neither thoughtful nor courageous; a Christian worldview provides an alternative perspective of reverence for both God and His creation. Likewise, an aspiring leader who has great economic credentials and promises to create millions of jobs but does not value human life at every state cannot be trusted to keep economic pledges. If He can pick which lives are important that permits him to declare unemployed or at-risk constituents expendable. A Biblical worldview shapes a trustworthy leader.
Donald Trump indicates-in-action a profound meeting with Jesus on that Damascus Road lately. He is a work in progress – like everybody – but profoundly transformed in worldview.
The first indicator is a decided mellowing. Gone is the inflammatory rhetoric of the primary season. Trump is still Trump, but he has dialed back a lot; he was gracious enough to invite arch-rival Ted Cruz to speak at the nominating convention where mere weeks ago he was banning identified enemies. He persists in promising a border wall – already mandated in federal law – but has sheathed the sabre about forced financing. He remains committed to halting immigration from areas exporting Islamist terror, but now says only until a proper vetting protocol is in place. These are reasonable and even generous positions given the recent bloodshed in American streets.
The old Trump was vaguely pro-life while lauding Planned Parenthood’s alleged good works; the transformed man champions life across the board and offers no comfort to agencies who traffic in any dimension of it. Likewise, the Trump who mocked Christians and their Bibles as surely as Barack Obama mocks us is on record before a thousand evangelical leaders calling them out to accept primary responsibility for healing the national and cultural wounds while promising to have their backs.. He pledges to repeal the Johnson Amendment so they have no excuse to fear government reprisals. Reliable witnesses of the stature of Alveda King and James Dobson confirm these reports and Dobson claims first-hand knowledge of Trump’s Damascus Road encounter.
It is time for the skeptics – beginning with me – to give the Lord Jesus and His new servant, Donald, a fighting chance.
James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships, The Holy Spirit and the End Times, and Kingdom in Pursuit – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at praynorthstate@charter.net
