Why Do People Have to Die?

By: Carey Kinsolving
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:41:42
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People die because "God wants more angels," says Katie, 6.

Though some people act like angels and others like the devil, angels are angels and people are people.

With the exception of morticians, no one likes funerals. When we experience the loss of a friend or a loved one, it's easy to forget that death is not part of God's original plan.

"When Eve sinned and ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God said, 'Out of the dust you came, and back to the dust you will return,'" says Stephani, 11.

Don't forget Adam. He ate, too.

Stephani's comments go to the heart of the problem. Death for us does not mean we cease to exist. Death is separation from God. Most people associate death with the physical body, but death begins in our spirits.

Adam and Eve died spiritually before they died physically. The fellowship they once enjoyed with God was broken when they sinned.

Elizabeth, 12, says people die "because God has called them and wants to see them." Or, as Kyle says, "so they can see God."

According to Tiffany, 9, God might use some people as his eyes: "The reason people die is so we can go to heaven and watch over our loved ones."

In the book of Revelation, there's a snapshot of worship in heaven where 24 elders fall down before Jesus Christ with "golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (Revelation 5:8).

Maybe these bowls contain the prayers of Christians on earth as well as those already enjoying the bliss of heaven. Wouldn't people in heaven have more incentive to pray for loved ones left behind?

Not only is Tiffany onto something, she has more: "Another reason is so that we can be with Jesus. The reason Jesus stays in heaven is because if Jesus is earthly, then he can't watch over everybody, but in heaven, he can."

On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples he was going away, but he promised he would not leave them alone. He said he would send the Helper, the Holy Spirit. Jesus would do far more than comfort through the Holy Spirit. He would dwell inside them and live his life through them.

"Earth is just a place for us to get ready for heaven," says Ben. "Maybe some people are ready to go to heaven before others."

How do you know if you're ready to go?

Listen to Rainey, 10: "I really don't know why some people die before others, but the important thing is not what age you are when you die. It's whether Jesus lives in your heart. If he does, you'll live with Jesus in heaven forever."

Rainey wrote this only a few months before she and her sister, Lacey Lipscomb, 8, went home to be with their Lord in a train crash in Bourbonnais, Illinois, on March 15, 1999.

Ten-year-old Rainey and her sister didn't expect to see Jesus so soon, but they were ready. They now know more than ever the importance of having trusted the Lord Jesus with their eternal destiny.

Think about this: None of the people who went to work at the World Trade Center or the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 expected it to be their last day on earth. The Bible is clear that today is the day of salvation.

Memorize this truth: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Ask this question: Is today your time?

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