The Pulse Podcast includes interviews, weekly biblical studies, and also featured talks. This episode is a category of the later.
At the church I pastor we sometimes have a Q and A Forum. People submit questions and I provide an answer.
Here is one of the questions: “We as Christians accept that the only way to eternal life is through the sacrifice of our loving Father made for us through His Son Jesus. So the question that came up was, what about the infants/babies/children that have not come to Christ but have died? I remember several years ago hearing a pastor say that we are all born sinful, so how do we reconcile this thought?”
You can listen to the answer. Below you will also find the response in text form.
Audio:
Text:
As I share some thoughts in response to this question, I just want to recognize that these types of questions usually come from a very personal place. People have had children pass away, or they know of other children who have passed away.
As a parent, I know the deep and loving connections we have to our babies and children. Some questions seem abstract, but some are very personal, and that is certainly true with this one.
This specific question about babies and death isn’t answered directly in the Bible. Perhaps that’s why it’s such a challenging one. It would be easier if there was a verse that spoke to it very directly.
But just because there isn’t one specific place where it is addressed, that doesn’t mean the Bible doesn’t shed light on the subject in general.
First, all people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). God creates us while we are still in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139:13). God clearly cares about his creatures.
Further, as the full version of the question highlights, Jesus had a place in his heart for children. In fact, he said in Mark 10:15 that you won’t enter the kingdom of God unless you become like a child. This was probably a statement meant to highlight that many children are humbly dependent upon others (teaching us that we need to be humbly dependent upon God), how they can have a simple straightforwardness in their dealings (teaching us that we should have a simple straightforwardness in our dealings), and how their trust is sincere (teaching us that our trust in our Father should be sincere).
At the same time, we are all sinners. In Romans 3:23 Paul reminds us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” This includes children. The people who say that all children are innocent have probably never had any children of their own!
In response to this question, some people look to the story of King David when his child died after he had sinned with Bathsheba. It’s found in 2 Samuel 12. Before the baby died he was fasting and lamenting. But after the baby died, his mood changed. Let’s listen in to verses 21-23:
“Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Notice David’s point of view. He says that fasting can’t bring his child back. Alluding to his own eventual death, David says, “I shall go to him…” This seems to show that David is confident he will see his infant son one day in heaven. Based on the surrounding context, I think that makes the most sense of his words.
We could also look to other passages which remind us that many children (and most certainly infants and babies) are unaware of the moral decisions they make. In Deuteronomy 1:39 we are reminded that the children of Israel have “no knowledge of good or evil…” They have original sin, but only a limited knowledge about the good or evil of their ongoing moral choices.
I’m also a part of the Reformed Protestant tradition. We put a high premium on the idea of covenant since it is how God chooses to interact with his people. God enters into relationship with his people through covenant agreements. This covenant relationship is extended to everyone in a believing household. The people in my household are a part of God’s covenant people. There is no doubt about that. This is one of the reasons why we baptize infants. They are a full part of the covenant. We are a unit, not just isolated individuals. The sign of this covenant in the Old Testament was circumcision for males; in the New Testament it became baptism for both boys and girls.
Lastly, and perhaps this is the most poignant detail on this topic, is that the Bible tells us about God’s character. He is good (Psalm 118:1), holy (Revelation 4:8), wise (Psalm 145:3), loving (1 John 4:8), and true (John 14:6; Psalm 119:160). God is good, holy, wise, loving and true—always. In light of what we know about God’s character, I believe that babies go to be with their Creator when they die.
I also believe this about babies who have been miscarried, and also babies who have been aborted since they are full human beings. One day in heaven we will have glorious and joy-filled reunions that are beyond anything we could possibly imagine.
Jesus said: “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).
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