Is faith a great part of you? Well if it is you are not alone, the late former US president who has just passed away has left behind a legacy in demonstration of his faith and belief in Heaven.
The death of Bush nicknamed “41” to distinguish himself from son George W. Bush, “43” was announced in a statement released late Friday.
“Jeb, Neil, Marvin, Doro and I are saddened to announce that after 94 remarkable years, our dear Dad has died,” his son, former President George W. Bush, said in a statement released by family spokesman Jim McGrath. “George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for Dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens.”
Statement by President George W. Bush on the death of his father, President George H.W. Bush https://t.co/wDD0vnlN8U pic.twitter.com/t7UsDYSKY8
— George W. Bush Presidential Center (@TheBushCenter) December 1, 2018
Bush, a devoted Episcopalian and frequent churchgoer, was, like his son, known for his strong faith. It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the former President believed in the afterlife.
In the interview with Bush Hager, Bush said there were a number of people he was looking forward to seeing in heaven so long as he could find them. “If Barbara predeceases me, I’d probably go with her,” Bush said. “I think my mom, my father, maybe Robin, our little girl that died.”
When Barbara died in April, Bush also said in a statement that, “We have faith she is in heaven, and we know life will go on as she would have it. So cross the Bushes off your worry list.”
Their three-year-old daughter Robin’s battle with and eventual death from leukemia in the early 1950s both tested and deepened Bush’s faith. He declared that “prayer had always been part” of his and his wife Barbara’s lives, but it became more fervent during this ordeal. “Our faith,” Bush testified, “truly sustained us.”
Bush saw God as active and all-powerful and the Bible as divinely inspired and authoritative. “One cannot be America’s President,” the Republican frequently asserted, without “the strength that your faith gives to you.”
The Bible, which had helped shape America’s values and institutions, Bush attested, “has always been a great source of comfort to me.” He affirmed that Jesus was God’s divine Son and frequently referred to Christ as “our Savior.”
Moreover, Bush peppered his speeches with biblical quotations, precepts, and stories to underscore his positions.
Bush’s death comes months after the passing of his wife of 73 years, Barbara.
George Herbert Walker Bush, the president who managed the end of the Cold War and forged a global coalition to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait, has died at age 94.
In a political career that spanned three decades, he lost his bid for re-election and lived to see his son win the Oval Office.