I've poked fun at Harold Camping for several years. He used to be on late-night TV in California answering questions from callers about the things of the Bible. I never took him seriously, and I imagine after today there will be many more people that won't take him serious.
My heart goes out to those who bought into the false prediction. There was an article on ChristianPost.com about a couple who quit their jobs, a retired man who invested his savings of $140,000 on advertisement for this May 21st 'doomsday', and I'm sure there will be similar stories reported.
To be honest, I see this things are secondary. Reactions will vary, I am sure, but what haunts me is the fact there will be those who (may) blame themselves somehow. I can imagine the gentleman in the article linked above standing there on the street corner... the clock reading 6:01pm... and his face is blank. Traffic moves in a blur around him as he grapples with this new, unexpected reality. His statment reads: "I don't understand why nothing has happened. I did what I had to do. I did what the Bible said. I obviously haven't understood properly, because we're still here."
So take action. The pastor at Calvary Bible Church in Milpitas, CA did. In an effort to reach out to those who follow Camping he put out a statement of encouragement and an offer to help (this is also part the linked article above). What can I do? Besides prayer, avoiding sarcasim and maintaining an attitude of hope through Christ is where I need to start.
After all this isn't it amazing to sit back and think of God's grace. His forgiveness. He as our refuge:
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Ps 18:2
In spite foolish things we do God still offers His grace. Hope. Forgiveness. Love. Wow...
