Why does God let the young pass so early without intervening? Why does He take someone so good on this earth so young?

This is one of the hardest questions in the Christian faith, and it runs parallel to the question, if God is good, why is there suffering in the world? Before we begin, I want to make sure that it is known that if you are suffering from the pain of this question, I am praying for you. This is a question that I myself have wrestled with, and there are times that I still ask God why when it comes to situations that I see people I love so deeply for go through difficulty.

Yet, even more than I can feel the pain of those who are hurting, God feels that pain as well. This is the same God who watched His only begotten Son be brutally tortured, be mocked, be humiliated, and then on top of all that, had to forsake His only Son because Jesus took on the sin of the world. When Jesus heard that His friend, Lazarus, had died, we have one of the shortest verses in the Bible, Jesus wept (John 11:35). Jesus saw what sin has done, and it breaks His heart. Even knowing He was going to raise Lazarus back to life, Jesus still was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled…. and wept (John 11:33, 35). So if you are going through difficulty, if you are heart broken, if you are mourning, know that God sees you, He hears you, and He is present in the pain.

The difficulty in this question is that we may not ever know the why, specifically. We know that God created all things good. There was paradise on earth, Eden. Man walked with God. Man was in perfect relationship with God. And then man rebelled against God. In that moment, the curse fell upon man, but also upon creation. Death entered the world. Paul tells us in Romans 5:12, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin so death spread to all men because all sinned. Now you may be thinking that a baby hasn’t sinned, which is true, but the effects of sin remain on the earth, and through Adam’s sin, physical death comes upon every single person. Some live longer lives, others are taken too early. Paul tells us later on in Romans 8:19-20, For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility…. Even creation experiences the effects of the rebellion of man against the Almighty God. Sometimes, we are just left in the mystery of the why.

So I want to look at one question and one truth as we wrap up.

The first question is if we knew the answer to the why, would it make any difference? Even if we knew that it was an extremely noble cause, that great things were going to happen, would knowing why help us accept it? Sometimes, when we are in the midst of the pain, no answer is going to ease the pain. And sometimes we have to find peace in the truth, God is the One who knows, and He is the One we can trust.

We may never know, but we can know that He is good, even in the midst of heartache. This is where the faith of so many shines forth, when they are walking through the fire of life, and they are holding so firmly to the hand of God. I want to share an example of the faith I want to have, that has encouraged me greatly.

Every year, I get to attend a Church Leaders Conference in Dallas, Texas. In so many conferences, I always hear the motivational stories of my life was a mess, I found Jesus, and now everything is going up and to the right. Now, I very much agree that coming to Jesus brings healing, restoration, and purpose in life. But often I feel that these testimonies can point to if I just come to Jesus, I’ll receive the healing, I’ll get the job, I’ll find the success, so on and so forth. Last year, while in Dallas, Dave Bruskas, a leader at Watermark Community Church, was speaking about the characteristics of a disciple. He made the point that a disciple loves Jesus more…. more than anything. Then he shared his story, and it still rocks me to this day.

Dave always wanted to be a father. He started praying at an early age even, God, give me a son that will change the world. Dave ended up getting married, and he and his wife were able to conceive, and they had a girl. So Dave kept on praying, God, give me a son that will change the world. A couple of years later, God answered Dave’s prayer, and they were able to have a son. The problem revealed itself pretty quickly, their son had a bad heart. Surgery after surgery, their baby boy continued to not get better. Dave continually prayed for healing for their son. They kept having faith, God, this is the boy that we prayed for, a son to change the world. Finally, their surgeon came to them, telling them that there is one more surgery they can do. Dave and his wife asked the surgeon what they should do, in which he replied, if you don’t do the surgery, your boy will die. If you do the surgery, your boy will die. So Dave and his wife called their families, and they held their two-and-a-half-month old boy, praying for God to work a miracle, until finally his heart stopped beating. And so they continued to hold their little boy, until they finally started to walk out of the room. As they got to the door way, Dave continued to pray, God, I know that you are able, you can raise my boy, maybe this is the way that he changes the world, you will raise him from the dead! Yet, their boy remained lifeless. And it was at this moment, Dave turned to his wife, and told her, I think we need to tell Jesus that we love Him most.

Even in the midst of the pain, even with the heartache, they saw the goodness of God. They had questions, they didn’t understand why, but they knew that they loved God, most of all.

And even though there is death and pain in this world, Christ Jesus came to redeem this world, to take away the pain, and to bring us into eternity. So even when we don’t know the why, we are invited to the know Who, the One who conquered sin, defeated the grave, and promises us a future of no more pain, no more sorrow, and no more death.Even when we don’t know why, these are promises from God, that we can find hope in.

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. — 1 Corinthians 15:54-56

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. — Romans 8:19-24

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And He who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Also He said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. And He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. — Revelation 21:3-6
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God sees your pain, He is present in your pain, and He has given us a hope beyond our pain. Even when we don’t know the why, hold firmly to the One who gives us hope beyond the pain.