Unbeliever's Death

Dear Victorious,

What do you do when someone dies who isn't a believer? I mean it's pretty obvious that they aren't going to heaven. But what can be said about that?

Eduardo R. - San Ramon, CA

Dear Eduardo,

What you do and what you say are two different things. What you think is another matter still. The Bible is clear that those who don't put their faith in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in hell. That is a sobering proposition.

It's tempting to think that a loving God wouldn't send anyone to hell ... especially someone whom everyone considers to be "basically a nice person." Of course nothing in that statement would be true. A loving God doesn't send anyone to hell. In fact, because He is so loving, He has drawn firm boundaries around good and evil. He calls us to repentance and offers to make us holy. And He refuses to tolerate sin and evil. This is what a loving God does.

Unfortunately, it is mankind that makes foolish choices. We spurn God's grace and mercy, instead choosing our own path, or the path of another. When someone dies without Jesus Christ, he or she has made an unfortunate choice. I suppose the best thing we can do with it is find an increased urgency to get the word out. We can renew our vigil of prayer for those who know the gospel but haven't declared Christ in their own lives (which would be most people in North America today).

When people in North America today die without Christ, it is not because they didn't have the chance. More than likely, they had all the information they needed to make an informed decision. That they did not is heart breaking. Let it spur us on to strengthen our own stand against evil and our own calling to make disciples and take the Good News to others.

There is an old prayer that says something like, "Let me find peace with the things I cannot change and discernment with the things I can." This would be a good prayer to be praying when someone has died without Christ. "God, this is painful and heart breaking. Give me strength to move through that pain. And give me a renewed passion for You and Your will in my life." That's my prayer.