Unless you've been living under a rock somewhere, you've probably heard that the founder of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps, recently passed away. Some of the reactions I've seen to this have really bothered me...things like people saying that it's good that he's dead. People talking about protesting his funeral like he did to so many.
And I get that, I do.
Trust me, I have very strong feelings about Westboro and the pain they cause for so many.
But at the same time...we should probably stop to look at our own hearts when we're saying it's good that a man just died.
Who's to say that I'm any better than Fred Phelps?
No I don't protest funerals or tell people that God hates them.
But sometimes my heart is full of anger and hostility toward others.
I judge and I tear people down in my mind until my opinion of them is so low that I have no respect for them at all, even if sometimes I don't really know anything about them.
And it sucks because I know that's not a heart like Jesus'. I know that I have SO much growing still to do. But I also know that God still loves me. I believe that every time God sees those things in my heart, he yearns for me to bring them to Him because He alone can transform my heart and mind.
I think that sometimes when God looks at my heart and sees those things, He sees an erring child whom He desperately wants to help. And maybe that's what He saw when He looked at Fred Phelps, too.
I guess I'm trying to say that maybe ole Fred wasn't so different from the rest of us.
We all need Jesus, and that's that.
I'm thankful for a Father who accepts me and chose me despite my imperfections. I am thankful that He is transforming my heart and molding it into what He created it to be, day by day. I'm thankful that even when I take 2 steps back in my journey with Him, He's right there with me to lead me forward again.
I'm thankful that God loves each of us. You, me, and even Fred Phelps.
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