Why Do They Die So Young?

Lillian Katz: 1915-1928

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."--Matthew 19:14

One of life's worst tragedies is the death of children and adolescents. It has a profound affect on the parents who suffer the horrible anguish of losing a precious child that they proudly and joyfully brought into the world.

Some people are so crushed by the loss of a child that it destroys them forever. Many parents who lost children in the tragic Our Lady of Angels fire that occurred on Dec. 1, 1958 at a Roman Catholic elementary school in Chicago never recovered emotionally. Some blamed themselves; others blamed God and others eventually died of physical maladies brought on by broken hearts. 

Charles Darwin's terrible book: On the Origin of the Species that he published in 1859 that attempted to explain the existence of physical life sans God was motivated by the death of his young daughter Annie. Darwin believed that no loving God would ever allow a young child to die, so he exacted his revenge against God by writing a thesis that dismissed God as a primitive myth created in the minds of ignorant men. In doing so, Darwin unleashed a destructive lie upon the world that has become the foundation for anarchy, civil disobedience and moral decay since the mid-19th century.

How do you encourage someone who has tragically lost a child to put their faith and trust in God? Very firmly and very carefully. Certainly, the loss of a child could well indeed be related to a curse inherited from a godless ancestor. In the Second Commandment, the Lord explained that "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:5-6)

In some cases, the Lord takes people prematurely in order to prevent a greater evil or tragedy from occurring in the future.  However, in one specific case, the Lord actually changed his mind after he had informed Hezekiah, the King of Judah during the 8th century B.C. that he was going to bring Hezekiah's life to an end. (Isaiah 38:1) When Hezekiah pleaded with the Lord to spare his life, the Lord relented and granted him 15 more years. (Isaiah 38:4-5) 

What happened during those 15 additional years that Hezekiah lived? He bore a son named Manasseh who became a wicked king that rebelled against God and brought a terrible curse upon the Jewish people that still exists to this day. These are the words that the Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah concerning Manasseh's rebellion: "I will make them (the Jews) abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem." (Jeremiah 15:4) 

What did Manasseh do? As Judah's king who succeeded his father Hezekiah, Manasseh reintroduced pagan shrines in Israel to false gods that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. Had the Lord not granted Hezekiah 15 additional years, Manasseh would've never been born. But Hezekiah was granted those additional 15 years to prove an important point concerning why some people and even children may be taken away prematurely.

Certainly, it's cruel to suggest that children die prematurely because of curses, even if that is the case. And we don't know whether the Lord takes children prematurely because they might grow up to become evil and wicked adults. Since many children do grow up to become vile and wicked adults, there's no simple explanation as to why some innocent young children die while others grow up and enjoy long lives of evil and depravity.

I can say this in regards to the tragic deaths of young children; I believe that they are welcomed into heaven by Christ because he loves children. And at the resurrection, we will be reunited with them forever, never to experience disease, death or destruction again.