[S I M T A N]

In the Bible, Jesus said let little children go to Him and do not hinder them because the kingdom of God belongs to them lah!  We all must have childlike faith to enter heaven lah! Children being children don't know that taking something without permission is stealing lah! So adults must teach them the proper rights and wrongs lah! Next time they do it again, then we must discipline them lah!

Some parents who have lost a young child through illness or accident wanted to know whether their kid would go into the presence of the Lord. The question can be expanded to include adults who were mentally challenged and hence were 'childlike' when they died.

Anyone with an ounce of compassion would want to comfort them. Beyond our desire to offer consoling words, is there any biblical reason to think that children who died before they were old enough to exercise faith in Christ are saved?

Well, I think kids are the least of our worries since they occupy a special place in God's heart. I believe children are saved in the same way people are saved today; by God's grace. A child who isn't able to exercise faith is no problem because no one is saved 'by faith.' Instead we're saved 'by grace .. through faith.' God's gracious act of sending Christ to die for our sins is the basis for our salvation, and faith is simply the means by which we access that salvation. We can comfort themselves with the thought that God is a merciful God who will do the right thing.

It's grown-ups who are a cause for worry. The Bible says unbelievers are 'without excuse' because of their conscious choice to reject God's truth:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Rom 1:18,20)