Dear Mr. Obama: Find a Leader To Follow

Dear Mr. Obama,

It has not escaped anyone’s attention in the western part of the Netherlands that you have visited our country this week. Highways were closed off, helicopters filled the airspace and uniforms colored crucial intersections blue. A billboard reminded me that there were another 57 government leaders present at the nuclear summit in The Hague. They were so much standing in your shadow, that I actually was not aware of their presence. You have enjoyed the visit. No wonder, as you could enter the Rijksmuseum without waiting in line to enjoy the “Nachtwacht.” You ate a wonderful dinner with our monarchs and you have laughed about a cycling Prime Minister Rutte. You have let it be known that you even thought it was “gezellig.”

The last couple of days, I have thought about how it would feel to be the most powerful man in the world. Wherein does that power lie? Was it visible when your less powerful colleague Putin played a game of conquest in the Black Sea? Is your hand discernible in Syria, in Central Africa? Do you have influence on the world economy, and is it thanks to your policy that we seem to be leaving behind the crisis? Has the world really become more safe because of your contribution to the nuclear summit, which was the reason for your visit? Or does your power possibly manifest itself in great America? I cannot shake the feeling that it is disappointing to leave a mark while your opponents, the Republicans, call the shots in some agencies.

You are undisputedly the most powerful man in the world. Yet your influence on world events is slight. Let’s be honest: Just like any other person, you are not capable of controlling the world, but does your role remain limited to responding to events that occur? Would it make a difference for the world whether you or a Republican lives in the White House? And are you capable of making that difference in America? At most, in that, you strive more for innovation and hence the dismantling of the old, while a Republican would primarily make an effort to conserve the trusted capitalistic, and maybe also Christian values.

I therefore do not envy you. Because while your influence is slight, you have to pay a high price for your position: your freedom. You had to smile when you saw Prime Minister Rutte cycle to the Catshuis. That must have a been a sour smile. For you know that this freedom of movement is not meant for you. Much too dangerous for you to show yourself in public so unprotected. For down-to-earth Dutchmen, it is almost laughable that because of your safety, your own limos had to be flown in from America. We could have arranged for a solid car for you. Your safety was not to be outsourced to foreigners. Luckily, there were also Dutchmen on their feet for you. Otherwise, it could have ended badly, considering the alcohol intake of your people.

I wonder whether you are really happy in your role. Maybe you are looking forward to the moment of handing over [your role] to your successor. That does not go easily, for that matter: over-the-top, sidetracked, with no second chance possible — as a disappointment into the history books. How can you get your life back on track later?

Can I give you some advice? Do not expect it from your own abilities, but find a leader to follow. I know One who is Almighty. His tenure does not end after eight years. He remains at his post perpetually. He does not respond to events but determines the course of history. With Him, power or possession do not matter, but peace and justice do. He offers absolute safety to all His followers.

Your presidency might have been a childhood dream. That is definitely over soon. If you are allowed through mercy to become a follower of Jesus Christ, you have the most beautiful part of your life still ahead of you.

Heartfelt I wish for you, now and later, God’s blessing.