Fred Phelps entered immortality today, with a lot of questions, a lot of anger, and a lot of mixed feelings from the world he left behind. To be honest, he was a person that was easy to dislike for even the most seasoned fundamentalist, as his hate seemed to know no end.
But the questions that he left with those behind him pale in comparison to the big one that only he knows the answer to.
It's hard for any Christian who genuinely understands the meaning of God's grace to hope that Phelps is in Hell or any sort of eternal punishment. Granted, it would be a just resolution for an individual who spent much of his time spreading hate to others. But to understand grace, you have to understand it has nothing to do with what we have earned.
In the final months of his life, Phelps was allegedly excommunicated from his own church, an ironic punishment that may or may not have been driven by his recanting his stance towards the homosexual community. We will likely never know, as those with an interest in protecting their franchise of hate continue to do so, and because Phelps was estranged from much of his own family.
But whether Phelps recanted or not, we cannot know his heart. Only God knows that. And for any of us to pray for anything but grace for Fred Phelps would be hypocrisy if we ourselves expect to receive it.
I end this knowing that God is good, God is just, and that somewhere tonight, Fred Phelps knows that. I can only pray that he found the grace he so fervently sought to deny others.
