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“God calls every man, but too few respond to God’s call. If we all responded to the call and challenge that God proposes to us, wonderful things would happen. God would make heroes of the faith out of each of us.
Former French President Charles de Gaulle once said he had come to the conclusion that politics was too serious to be left to politicians. Among the believers, with regret, a misconception has spread that politics is something which is not up to us, that should not interest us, a dirty work in which, if a Christian gets involved, he would get dirty.
Let us not forget that we live in a ”wicked and adulterous nation” as the Lord Jesus Christ said then, and so we live now. We are in the middle of a highly polluted world, morally and spiritually speaking. We are called to be the salt of the earth. Salt is the one that stops corruption, the one that maintains moral values. We are called to be the light of the world.
In the famous sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus says:
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.” (Matthew 5:14-15 NASB)
The Parliament of Europe is a lampstand that, unfortunately, does not shine, a lamp that remains without the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. The European Parliament is one of the most important institutions of the European Union, because EU law is drafted here, because it has the authority to take into account the European Commission, to watch what is happening there, to come up with initiatives. It is so important for us Christians to have a man there, who will be able to present initiatives, who will be able to bring up topics that others do not bring up. That means a lot.
Few people understand this value. Some of them believe that one person can do nothing. There are 705 deputies. What can one do if there are 705? He can! When the slightest spark of light appears, it is visible. When we walk through the woods at night and a firefly passes, don’t we see it? Where it is dark, a small light that shines makes a difference. I pray a lot for everyone in Moldova, Romania and everywhere in Europe to understand that we can make a difference.
Jesus said to put the lamp on the lampstand, not under a basket. When we put it under a basket, we seem to feel more comfortable, because we do not expose ourselves to dangers, to persecution. By the way, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said these things in the context of persecution.
Now our brother Peter Costea is running for the European Parliament. The elections will take place on May 26. If we remain indifferent, then we cannot cope in this struggle. I often experience such a temptation to despair. And this often happens when you see that you are alone or that there are too few of you, when you see that there is such a great force that could make a difference, but they do not understand the value, they prefer to sit under a basket. They even speak ill of you for pretending to be a lamp, where the Lord Jesus Christ wants us to be!
May God help us not to despair, to do our part, to do it well, whether we get into the European Parliament or not. It is important to fulfill the call of the Lord Jesus, to be the lamp that stands on the stand. That’s how I urge you all.
May God help our brother Peter Costea. Let’s all pray and do everything we can. Let’s talk to others. We have a great need for people who know the law well, who know how to work with the laws. The other secular group, the left group, which pushes on us all the evils, makes use of this whole legislative apparatus, of everything that happens with the laws. We find that there are no people in our group who can do that. We find that there are no people in our camp who can do that. This man, Peter Costea, is one of great value, because he has the experience and this has been proven in the case of the Bodnariu family. Let’s support this man to move forward, to hold the fight there in a high place.
I asked Brother Peter and I hope he will keep on his list of priorities to start preparing others. We have many Christians who have graduated from law school, but who go to other fields, not here, to preserve their values. He is already a motivation, an example in this regard. I pray for him, to inspire others, to take from his experience so that the battle will be fought correctly. God bless you, brother Peter, and may we all do our part!” (Vasile Filat)
Speech given at the release of the book “Defeat of Goliath,” which took place in Chisinau on May 11th, 2019.
Transcription and text adaptation: Elvira Eni, Irina Panainte.
Translated by Liza Bîrlădeanu