很多人认识我，是因为我是美国的第39任总统。但在上帝面前，我只是吉米，一个蒙恩的罪人，一个来自佐治亚州普莱恩斯（Plains）的农夫。

Many know me as the 39th President of the United States. But before God, I am just Jimmy, a sinner saved by grace, a farmer from Plains, Georgia.

如果要在我的墓碑上写下一个头衔，我希望不是“总统”，而是“主日学教师”。因为前者是暂时的荣耀，而后者是永恒的呼召。

If a title were to be written on my tombstone, I hope it would not be "President," but "Sunday School Teacher." For the former is a temporary glory, while the latter is an eternal calling.

1. 破碎后的重建：那个“140户”的悔改

Rebuilding from Brokenness: The Repentance of "140 Households"

我出生在一个基督徒家庭，但我信仰的真正转折点，并非发生在我最风光的时候，而是在我最失败的时候。

I was born into a Christian family, but the true turning point of my faith did not happen during my highest peaks, but in my deepest failures.

1966年，我竞选佐治亚州州长失败了。那是我人生中一段极其黑暗的日子，我充满了苦毒、失望和债务。我的妹妹露丝——一位充满灵性的布道者——问我：“吉米，你愿意把一切都交给神吗？”

In 1966, I lost the election for Governor of Georgia. It was an extremely dark period in my life, filled with bitterness, disappointment, and debt. My sister Ruth—a spirit-filled evangelist—asked me, "Jimmy, are you willing to give everything to God?"

我当时很骄傲，我觉得我还是个不错的基督徒。我告诉她：“我在竞选期间，为了拉票，拜访了140,000户人家。”

I was proud at the time; I thought I was a pretty good Christian. I told her, "During the campaign, seeking votes, I visited 140,000 households."

“露丝看着我，温柔地问：‘那么，你为了上帝，去拜访过多少户人家，分享你的信仰呢？’”

"Ruth looked at me and asked gently: 'So, how many homes have you visited for God, to share your faith?'"

那个问题像闪电一样击中了我。我羞愧地意识到，在过去的三个月里，我为了自己的野心敲开了14万扇门；但在过去的十几年里，我为了上帝却只敲开了不到140扇门。

That question struck me like lightning. I realized with shame that in the past three months, I had knocked on 140,000 doors for my own ambition; but in the past decade, I had knocked on fewer than 140 doors for God.

那一刻，我流泪悔改。我意识到我的信仰只是生活的“装饰品”，而不是生命的“核心”。那是我的重生时刻——我决定不再把上帝当作某种达成目标的手段，而是把他作为我生命唯一的主宰。

In that moment, I wept in repentance. I realized my faith was merely an "ornament" of life, not its "core." That was my moment of rebirth—I decided to no longer treat God as a means to an end, but as the sole Lord of my life.

2. 行动中的信仰：当锤子成为讲章

Faith in Action: When a Hammer Becomes a Sermon

离开白宫后，很多人以为我会像其他前总统一样，忙于演讲赚钱或打高尔夫球。但我和妻子罗莎琳选择了另一条路。

After leaving the White House, many thought I would be busy making money from speeches or playing golf like other former presidents. But my wife Rosalynn and I chose a different path.

我们穿上工装，拿起了锤子，加入了“仁人家园”（Habitat for Humanity）。在过去的几十年里，我们在世界各地为穷人建造房屋。当我手中握着锤子，在烈日下为无家可归者钉下一颗颗钉子时，我感到了比坐在椭圆形办公室里更深的满足感。

We put on work clothes, picked up hammers, and joined Habitat for Humanity. Over the past few decades, we have built homes for the poor all over the world. When I held a hammer in my hand, driving nails for the homeless under the scorching sun, I felt a deeper satisfaction than I ever did sitting in the Oval Office.

神学不仅仅是写在书本上的教义，更是此时此刻的爱。正如雅各书所说：“信心没有行为是死的。”我依然每个主日都在我的母乡教会教主日学，这对我来说，比任何国事访问都重要。在那个小小的教室里，没有总统，只有一群渴望神话语的饥渴心灵。

Theology is not just doctrine written in books; it is love in the here and now. As the Book of James says, "Faith without works is dead." I still teach Sunday School every Sunday at my home church. To me, this is more important than any state visit. In that small classroom, there is no President, only a group of hungry souls longing for the Word of God.

3. 面临死亡的平安

Peace in the Face of Death

2015年，医生告诉我，癌细胞已经扩散到了我的大脑。面对这几乎是“死刑判决”的诊断，我原本以为自己会恐慌。

In 2015, doctors told me that cancer had spread to my brain. Faced with a diagnosis that was essentially a "death sentence," I originally thought I would panic.

但在那个下午，当我躺在床上时，一种出人意料的、完全的平安临到了我。我回顾这一生，不论是高峰还是低谷，都有神的恩典相伴。我发现自己并没有向上帝求延长寿命，而是求他给我力量去面对接下来的一切。

But that afternoon, as I lay in bed, an unexpected and complete peace came over me. I looked back on my life, whether at its peaks or in its valleys, and saw God's grace accompanying me. I found that I did not ask God to extend my life, but rather asked Him for the strength to face whatever was to come.

我对罗莎琳说：“我已经准备好去见上帝了，无论那是何时。”

I told Rosalynn, "I am ready to meet God, whenever that may be."

虽然医生后来奇迹般地控制住了病情，但那次经历让我确信：在这个动荡的世界里，唯有耶稣基督所赐的平安，是夺不走的。

Although doctors later miraculously controlled the condition, that experience convinced me: in this turbulent world, only the peace given by Jesus Christ cannot be taken away.