Where do babies go if they die?

There is nothing so precious in this life as that of a newborn baby. While not all are the product of the love between a man and his wife, they all enter into this life absolutely helpless and totally dependent on others for their needs.

Born in innocence, they represent mankind at its best, yet with each passing year as they shed that innocence they will evidence more and more of the selfish, sinful nature that was imparted to them at conception.

Though most babies are born healthy and can expect to transition into adulthood some 18 years or so later, there are those who do not, whose parents and family must deal with the grief of their passing. Few parents are equipped to deal with such grief, one so powerful it is capable of toppling the most solid marriage.

Where can they go for comfort?

While religion has attempted to deal with it in a number of ways, only the Bible offers any lasting source of comfort and hope. Today, if you are grieving over the loss of a baby or young child, or know someone who is, God wants you to know that that young life is now safe with him. And what’s more, though you are now separated from him or her, God offers you hope that you can someday see that child again.

To begin to understand this we need to understand the biblical concept of innocence. The greatest picture of innocence in all the Bible is in the Garden of Eden before Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Often called the age or dispensation of innocence by Bible scholars, it not only was when there no sin in the world whatsoever, but if there had been neither Adam nor Eve would have known what it was. You could rightly say that they were absolutely ignorant of evil until, that is, the day they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At that point, they “knew” they were naked. While many would like to think they were clothed with light until this point, I find this to be a mere fanciful dream, for ignorance needs no such crutch. What parent out there hasn’t had their child escape the bathtub to run down the hall naked, if not out into the yard? Am I the only one?

The problem with the varied naturist movements is that they already know what being naked is, but babies and young children are innocent because they do not. The Apostle Paul wrote of this in Romans 7 when he said, “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”

What he is saying here is that before he knew what sin was, he was alive, innocent before God and therefore guiltless. The moment he knew what sin was, he died and became guilty before God for his sin. When did this happen? Doubtless it was when he, like Adam and Eve, knew he was naked.

I don’t care what nationality, culture or religion a baby or young child is born into, the truth is that until that child knows what nakedness is, they stand before God in innocence.

From here, the next thing we need to understand is that when innocent children die, it is into God’s hands that they go. This is exactly what is portrayed in the life of David and that of the first babe that Bathsheba would bear unto him. For those unfamiliar with the story, this child was the product of an adulterous affair, and when initial attempts to cover his sin failed, David resorted to murder and then marriage to cover it up. But God saw what he had done, and as a result, God removed that child through death. Though David sorrowed greatly while his child lay dying, once dead, David sorrowed no more. And when he was asked why, he said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” No amount of sorrowing would ever bring that child back from death, but because he was assured of salvation from God, David knew he would see that child one day.

Friend, if you are sorrowing over the death of your innocent child, it should be of great comfort to know that that child is now safely in the arms of its Creator. At this point, the only real tragedy would be if you could never see it again. While that child is innocent, we are not, and like David are in need of the salvation offered only through God’s son, Jesus Christ. What greater hope can God give to the grief-stricken parent than to one day see that child again? And this salvation can be yours, for free.

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.