May Ken Lay's soul be resting with Our Lord at this very minute!

Kenneth Lay, founder of Enron Corporation, dead at 64 of a massive heart attack

Blessed are they
Whose transgressions are forgiven,
Whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
Whose sin the Lord will never count against him.

Romans 5:1-8

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:1-8

I read these words from Romans last evening well after midnight, and had no idea why I was so fixated on these two passages ... until I learned on the radio while driving to Grays Harbor College that Ken Lay had passed away of a heart attack.

As an avid listener to Air America, I was somewhat disappointed to hear judgment after judgment passed on Mr. Lay – particularly by Randi Rhodes, whom I consider one of the truly great talk radio hosts. Her jocular mention of his being surprised upon his death to be “looking up at us” (presumably from hell) was … well, judgmental, I think, and also lacked the love we are to have for all men and women … enemies included.

I truly hope that Mr. Lay’s faith in our Lord Jesus was genuine and that he is resting with Jesus even as you read this, no matter how awful his crimes may seem to any of us.

I know what selfishness is like, having spent a goodly portion of my life focused on what I wanted, and not what was right or best for others. Hopefully, my faith in Jesus will put me in the company with others (maybe even Ken Lay!) who repented and accepted Jesus into their lives.

We all know that Mr. Lay faced a likely "rest of his life in Jail," having been convicted of fraud and conspiracy about six or seven weeks ago. The sentencing was scheduled for October. I can only wonder if "God's plan," which Ken Lay mentioned while walking out of the courthouse in May was a merciful ending to this sad saga.

I, for one, will not judge Ken Lay. May his soul rest in peace for eternity!