Godspeed Fred Phelps

Stuffed in amidst reports of possible wreckage of flight 370 being sighted, comments on the Russian annexation of the Crimea, and out takes from the trial of Oscar Pistorius we have the short note regarding the passing of Fred Phelps, the founder of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. All of the ink spilled on this event was mercifully short, with the exception of one article I read by a sports writer (not too surprising).  As a baptist, and a Christian, I must confess that I am not sorry that Mr. Phelps is gone - if only that he can no longer cause the hurt and pain he did so often in his living years.  But I am sad that he never found grace, forgiveness and repentance.  And thus, those who loved him (and there were many) will continue to misguidedly try to promote his message.

How should we respond as Christians?

On one side there are sentiments of glad relief that Mr. Phelps is no long among the living, some even wrapped in the hope that this will signal an end to the sinful strife he and his followers caused. Others are more challenging in their perspective.

Scripture is clear on this matter -

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. - Matthew 5:43-45 ESV

And

27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. - Luke 6:27-29 ESV

So while we may feel a moment of relief and small satisfaction at the passing of Mr. Phelps, we must remember to continue to pray for all who persecute Christ - whether they are claiming Him as their own, or railing against His Gospel.  And we must keep praying because Mr. Phelps and Westboro Baptist were, and still are, not the only ones who injure the body of Christ with heretical teaching in the Name of Jesus.

It was easy to point at Phelps when he was alive and play contrast to his monstrous pronouncements, but we are called to a higher response.  May the Lord be with Westboro Baptist Church and may His hand rest upon them, even if it must do so heavily, until they are His obedient servants and surrender all to His will. And may the Lord have mercy upon Fred Phelps' soul.

Shalom


To the Point and Beyond by Brian J Munro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.