President Joe Biden referred to the late former President Jimmy Carter as a “faithful servant of God and the people” while reflecting on his legacy during Carter’s state funeral service.
The service was held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, following Carter's passing last month at the age of 100—nearly 44 years after his term as the 39th president ended. Beyond his political career, which included serving as the governor of Georgia and president, Carter is remembered for his strong Christian beliefs.
In his eulogy, Biden emphasized Carter’s commitment to his faith, stating, “Keeping faith in the best of humankind and the best of America is the story, in my view, from my perspective, of Jimmy Carter’s life.” Biden described Carter as a man “driven and devoted to making real the words of his Savior and the ideals of this nation.”
Biden elaborated on Carter’s deep Christian faith, highlighting that it inspired his candidacy and echoed the essence of “faith as the substance of things hoped for and evidence of the things not seen.” He specifically mentioned Carter’s dedication to the commandments to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul” and to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”
“Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God and the people,” Biden commended.
He defined a meaningful life as one where individuals “share the better parts of ourselves — joy, solidarity, love, commitment — not for reward but in reverence to the incredible gift of life we’ve all been granted.” He remarked that “that’s the life Jimmy Carter lived during his 100 years.”
“Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God and the people,” Biden commended. “He showed us how character and faith start with ourselves and then flow to others.”
He concluded by expressing confidence that Carter had been reunited with his late wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, in the afterlife, and describing Carter as someone who “did justly, loved mercy, [and] walked humbly.”
Additional eulogies were delivered by Carter's grandson Joshua, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations the Rev. Andrew Young, and Steven Ford, son of former President Gerald Ford. Joshua Carter shared his grandfather’s favorite Bible verse, 1 Romans 8:1-18 and 38-39, describing it as “the bedrock of my grandfather’s faith.”
Jason Carter, another grandson, also delivered a eulogy, stating that his late grandfather’s life was “a testament to the goodness of God.” He described his late grandfather’s life as “a testament to the goodness of God.” He maintained, “My grandparents did fundamentally live their lives, as the Bible says, to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.”
“I believe that that love is what taught him and told him to preach the power of human rights, not just for some people but for all people. It focused him on the power and the promise of democracy, its love for freedom, its requirement and founding belief in the wisdom of regular people raising their voices and the requirement that you respect all of those voices, not just some.”
