Tag: eternal life

Do All Children Go to Heaven? 7 Reasons (from the Bible) I Am Confident They Do

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Miscellaneous6 Comments

On Friday, April 5th at 2:26pm, my three year old nephew, Zade, entered Jesus’ presence. Though I may never know why it happened, I am confident where he is, because I believe the Bible clearly answers the question of where children and infants go when their time on earth is finished. Here are seven reasons why I believe all “little ones” go straight to heaven when they pass:

1. Children are described as belonging to God.

In the book of Ezekiel, God condemns the Israelites for offering up their children as sacrifices to foreign gods. Interestingly enough, God doesn’t call the Israelite’s children their children, but His children(see Ezekiel 16:21). God views little ones as his own possession and will take them to be with himself when their time is complete. They are His children, after all.

2. Children are viewed and treated as innocent by God.

God refers to young children as innocents in Jeremiah 19:4 (ESV). Children obviously inherit a sinful nature from Adam (no one has to teach a two year old to be selfish), so they aren’t totally innocent of sin. But they are innocent in their inability to understand their sin as rebellion against God and their subsequent need for a Savior to reconcile them to God.

Consider Deuteronomy 1:39, where God tells the Israelites who did not trust Him that they will not enter the promised land. Notice what He says about their children, “And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad- they will enter the land.” The children who “do not yet know good from bad” were not punished alongside their parents. They were allowed entrance into the promised land because God in His grace viewed them as innocent. I believe the same applies to the promised land in heaven!

3. Children are recipients of God’s protective compassion.

In Matthew 18, Jesus encourages his followers to avoid despising the “little ones.” In other words, they are not to be forgotten. The disciples were not to be so focused on their future ministry that they saw children as unimportant. Jesus even describes the little ones as having their own angels (v. 10) and states that it is the Father’s will that none of them should perish (v. 14). God’s desire is that we would follow Him in remembering and protecting children. It’s hard to imagine that He would remove His compassion and stop protecting them when their life on earth is done. On the contrary, He welcomes them into an even greater experience of His love and care for them in heaven.

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Reflecting God’s Love- A Eulogy for Dorothy Rachels

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

This Saturday I had the privilege of speaking at Dorothy Rachel’s funeral in Thomaston, GA. She was my wife’s grandmother, whom we all referred to as “Memomma Dot.” She was the spiritual matriarch of the family and played important roles in my wife’s and my own faith journey. She was full of faith, love, and life. I used her favorite verse for the message- John 3:16. My aim was demonstrate that her remarkable life can only be explained by the fact that she knew and experienced God’s love.

I am posting the audio recording of message here for Memomma’s family and friends who were not able to attend the funeral and for those in attendance who asked if we had a recording. I pray that it will be a blessing to you, honor Memomma, and bring glory to God!

Precious in the Sight of the Lord is the Death of His Saints

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn Miscellaneous2 Comments

In light of my wife’s faithful and loving grandmother’s crossing the threshold of heaven this week, I am reminded of the verse:

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15

These words remind us of God’s immense love for His sons and daughters. At no point in their lives is he a distant observer. Rather, He is an ever present, sovereign, involved Father- every step of the way. Including the final step of their earthy lives.

Their death, says the psalmist, is precious in His sight. Why is it precious? Because for them, it is the last trial they will go through. It is the last time they will ever feel pain. It is the last effect of a sinful and fallen world that they will experience. Endless joy, peace, comfort, and fulfillment lay ahead.

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John 1: The Word Became Flesh

On By Jarrett Ray FletcherIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

This year, my family, some friends and I are reading through the book of John counting down to Christmas. Each day we are reading a chapter and I am writing an analysis. Please join us! Today is John Chapter 1.

John 1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, He was in the beginning with God.” (verses 1-2).

In the very beginning of the book of John, we are given a clear representation of who Jesus is. From these first two verses, what are we told? That in the beginning, the Word was there, with God, and was God. So who or what is this “Word?” None other than Jesus himself! Skim down to verse 14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Aha! Now we can read these “Word” verses with this knowledge in mind. Lets summarize what this section tells us about Jesus:

  • In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. (v.1)
  • He (Jesus) was in the beginning with God. (v.2)
  • All things were made through him (Jesus), and nothing was made without him. (v.3)
  • In him (Jesus) is life, and he is the light of men. (v.4)
  • Jesus put on flesh and dwelt among us (v.14)

Is this odd that John starts with these deep truths about Jesus right at the beginning? Why would he do that? I believe he was intentional about it, because he believed it was absolutely crucial to understand that Jesus was God in the form of a man, to understand the gospel at all!

So what else is unique here? (besides John the Baptist, I will write of him in a later post). Look at this verse, “No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” (verse 18). What does this tell us? The 2nd time the verse says “God,” it is referring to Jesus! Some older manuscripts read “The only Son…..has made him known.” We could also read this verse now thinking of Jesus: “No one has ever seen God, but Jesus, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”

So Jesus has come to make God known, and so that we can know Him! As we read on in John, we will see that because of our sinful condition, this was the only possible way that we could be made right with God. The Bible calls this “knowing God” eternal life; “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3).

We will see as we continue reading that Jesus came to accomplish this very purpose, to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). But first he must live a life of perfect obedience, offer up his life by being nailed to a cross, and rise from the grave to do so. I hope you will join my family and me as we continue to read the gospel of John this Christmas season, as we strive to know God through the amazing gift he has given us: Jesus!