"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." ~ 1 John 4:8
"Love never fails." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:8
I read it in the newspaper today. I still get a real newspaper, the kind you read at breakfast. The headline says Fred Phelps, dead at 84, preached an angry God. Perhaps you heard it yesterday. Yes, he's the "fire-and-brimstone" preacher who led the Westboro Baptist Church. According to this article I have here in The Oregonian, one that apparently originated with The Washington Post, he even "managed to offend the conscience of the Ku Klux Klan". Now, that's quite an achievement!
The article quotes Pastor Phelps as saying "You're not going to get nowhere with that slop that 'God loves you'....That's a diabolical lie from hell without biblical warrant.'"
Yes, yes, yes, apparently his version of the Bible was somehow missing the verses that I quoted above, that much is obvious. And I'm sure many are musing about what kind of a "demonstration" they might plan at his funeral (and apparently there isn't going to be a funeral, probably for that reason).
I can see by just a quick glance at the buzz online, many are celebrating this man's death.
I'll tell you what I'm celebrating. I'm celebrating that a precious, deeply wounded soul is now consciously in the embrace of the God he was carefully taught not to know.
But now he knows.
Some day, we all will know. That's the cause for celebration.
Love never fails. Ever.
Love never fails. Ever.
