(Is It God’s Will For One To Die?) Question and Answer.
Question:
“In our town, a woman lost her son in an automobile accident (killed by a drunk driver). At the funeral some Christians told her it was just God’s will. Understandably she was very upset about this. Is it God’s will for one to die this way?”
Answer:
Because God has unlimited power, many ascribe acts to Him that are not His. Jesus said, “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26, New American Standard Bible). However, that is not all-inclusive. For example – “it is impossible for God to lie” (Hebrews 6:18). In other words, God will not deny Himself, He will not pervert His own purposes and He will not violate His own will.
When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, God told him, “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Death has been the destiny of humans ever since: “it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). But notice this passage about the death of Jesus: “that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). Death is the result of sin (Genesis 3:19; 1 Corinthians 15:56). God is not the author of sin. That is Satan’s area of expertise.
Even though Satan has “the power of death”, that does not mean he has absolute power. God does. This simply means that God allows Satan to act and still will limit what the devil can do. The events in the life of Job show that. Then why does God allow bad things to happen to innocent people? The answer to that question is really very simple.
God gives all people the power to choose. And He will not take away the power of choice, for that would make robots of us all. Only by CHOOSING to serve God, can we fulfill the purpose for which God gave us life.
But as long as humans have the power to choose (free will) – some will choose a path that will lead to disaster (for themselves and for others). If a man chooses to drink and drive, he may not only kill (or injure) himself, but others. The only way God could avoid that would be to take away all of our power to choose. He will not do that because it violates the purpose for which He created us.
Dealing with people mean the sins of others (as well as their attitudes, actions and choices) will affect us. How else can we learn forgiveness, patience, etc.? Suffering and evil are necessary if we are allowed to have free will (the freedom to choose), intelligence and human interaction. We suffer when we violate God’s law.
The important thing to remember about this problem is that this life is not to be compared with “the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). No matter what Satan is allowed to do in this world (bringing us pain and suffering), he cannot infringe on our eternal inheritance if we are Christians.
And that God allows Satan to take the life of a Christian in no way diminishes the eternal reward of that person who has lived for Christ.
For more insight, check out the “Evil, Pain and Suffering” video link in the menu bar above. Also the related posts below. Thanks for your question.
Refresh My Heart In Christ 