Last week we dove into the realm of American presidential history and looked at some life lessons from Chester A. Arthur – a corrupt politician who, in the providential will of God, became president and helped change the course of the nation.

Specifically, we gleaned two principles from his life:

• We can help our kids hate Christianity through our harsh, unloving attitudes. 

• God in His sovereign plan, places us in situations that we are not suited for. 

Now it’s on to Lesson #3 from the life of Arthur: Everyone suffers. President Arthur was more of a backroom politician playing aristocrat than he was a “party animal”, but his lust for power and wealth often kept him from home. 

His ambitious disposition ultimately led him to the White House as Vice President and then President, but the greatest regret of his life is that his wife was not able to be there with him. She died a year before he was elected to high office. He was devastated. Even before that, he and his wife experienced debilitating grief upon the death of their son at the age of two. 

Moreover, Arthur suffered not just the stress of harsh public scrutiny but also various illnesses, including a kidney condition known as “Bright’s disease” which took his life at age 57. 

Here is the lesson. No matter how much fame, power or fortune we experience in life, the effects of sin lead us all to suffer. Whether great or small, rich or poor, old or young, suffering is an ever-present reality to life in a fallen world. Romans 8:22 tells us, “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” Only Christ in the new creation can bring an end to these universally experienced groanings and pain. 

Lesson #4: The power of encouragement. One of the great ironies of American history is how a New York invalid both encouraged and helped change the course of a nation through a series of letters to America’s most powerful man. 

Sometime after Arthur’s death, his grandson published his private papers, which included correspondence with one Julia Sands. Although they had never met, Ms. Sands wrote the President 23 letters, all blunt and to the point regarding his policies and fitness for office. She readily admits to him that no one wanted him as President and his checkered past rendered him unqualified. Yet she had real faith in him that he could change for the better. Her belief in him in the face of unrelenting opposition, and taking the time to encourage him, helped bolster Arthur. 

The reality is that since we all suffer, we all need encouragement. Acts 4:36 tells of a man named Joseph who was a dear friend of the apostles. Most know him better as Barnabas. Acts 4:36 states, “Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus.” 

Barnabas earned his nickname as a helper and source of needed “attaboys” in a church facing crushing oppression. As a matter of fact, if it were not for him vouching for Saul of Taurus, the great apostle Paul would not have had the ministry he had. 

It could be that someone in your circle needs encouragement today – the kind that could transform his or her life and the lives of others just like our nation was changed through the letters of an invalid to the President. Let us be encouragers. 

Lesson #5: There is hope for change – and renewal – as long as you draw breath. The odds against Arthur were incalculable. Garfield was the President the nation wanted and voted in. Arthur was nothing more than a Republican hack and lackey. He rose to power through corruption, and everyone expected him to stay that course. 

But to everyone’s surprise, Arthur actually did change. Through Julia Sands’ encouragement, he fought against party politics and established civil service reform when those in his wing of the Republican Party wanted nothing to do with it. The result was a fairer system based on merit, rather than who scratched whose back and a government running more efficiently than it ever had before.

From a Christian worldview, the obvious implication is that anyone can change – and be forgiven. It’s not clear whether Arthur, who attended an Episcopalian church while in Washington, sought to return to the God of his father. But no matter where you are, and what you have done, Christ’s blood is sufficient to forgive the darkest sin. Change is necessary and possible to the most hardened sinner through repentance. 

I would venture to say that 99 out of 100 Americans know nothing about Chester A. Arthur other than that he was president – and are likely none the worse for wear. Yet biographies offer life lessons from the worst of sinners to the holiest of saints. Arthur fits the former more than the latter, but his life is a shining example of hope. 

Let us remember that through the pain and suffering we all have in life, there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother and offers hope not just for earthly change and renewal, but for an eternity with Him. Praised be the King Jesus!

Soli Deo Gloria!