I have been burdened to write about this topic for sometime.
How can we convince a parent who lost an infant.
There is a strong belief that child of a saved parent will go to Heaven. We can take David’s son as an example.
What about the unbelievers, will their children go to heaven?
This is where I like to address the group of people who believe such infant can’t go to heaven. As JESUS is the WAY,. The only way. While quoting this scripture, we are just sharing one image of God. While God is Loving and Righteous all at the same time. He is also Gracious, Merciful, Kind which we fail to acknowledge by quoting scriptures related to salvation, which is written with reference to adult who are in ‘age of accountability’. It is unfair to portay one attribute of God while ignoring other attributes. Hence am sharing my observations below with respect to the collective attributes of God.
Romans 3:23-25 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.
– Jesus’s Sacrifice was an absolute necessary as it what gave us a right standing with our Creator.
John 3:16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
– When our God can be so gracious towards sinners like Me and You, wouldn’t he be more gracious towards an infant who havent attained ‘age of accountability’. Certainly He will.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.”
– If God is patient for my sake, I am certain the same God will be more patient
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
– Pure in heart will see God.
Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
– This clearly depicts the image of our Saviour Lord Jesus Christ. He address the elders not to stop the children to come to him. Instead by nature Children have the tendancy to go towards the Father. Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the children (of both believers / unbelievers alike) those who are like these children. I strongly believe this, as this incident was way ahead before Jesus’s resurrection. Jesus resurrection enabled sinners like Me to be saved by accepting Christ.
Psalm 139:13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
– God knew every child before he formed them in their mother’s womb.
Matthew 18:10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.
– Angels of the children are always in the presence of the God.
Genesis 17:20 As for Ishmael, I will bless him also, just as you have asked. I will make him extremely fruitful and multiply his descendants. He will become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
– Though Ishmael was son of Abraham and was born of Human efforts and not by God’s Promise. Yet God was gracious towards the child and blessed him. This gives the clear picture of God’s image.
Since God is Gracious, Kind and loving all the time, He will always be merciful towards the one who he created. Though there is no verse that guarantee that infants will go to Heaven. But God’s Mercy and Grace seen consistently throughout the Holy Bible, It is encouraging to believe thet God will be Merciful towards them.