Hi Pastor Chris!!
WHY does God allow children to get sick/die?
Sincerely,
Debbie
ANSWER
Debbie,
There are consequences to sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, He cursed the earth (Genesis 3). We can trace all of our problems to that one act of disobedience.
Adam and Eve could have lived forever on this planet. God told Adam that he would “surely die” if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). When Adam ate from the forbidden tree sin and death entered this world and was passed down to us.
The rest of the story is this: God loves us and will re-create creation (Romans 8:18-21; Revelation 21:1-5). This life is not the entire story.
We also believe that children who die before the age of accountability are taken to heaven to be with the Lord. Case in point: King David is spoken of as “a man after God’s own heart.” He had a child that died. David said, “I will go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). We cannot say exactly when the age of accountability is. It has to do with a child’s understanding of sin and his or her need of forgiveness for that sin. It also has to do with a child realizing that Jesus’ death is the payment for that sin. He or she then receives Christ as Savior. When a child knows these things then he or she is accountable for them. It has been said, “A child who is old enough to sin knowingly is old enough to believe savingly.” Willful sin is the issue.
One other thing, we also know that God will do the right thing whenever a child dies. God can be trusted in these matters. He is sovereign. His thoughts are higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9).
Keep digging! I love it when I find someone who is asking questions and searching for the mind of Christ!
Sincerely,
Pastor Chris