Day 164 - Children Are with the Lord

365 daily emails to help you through the grieving process Grief support groups: Click here to find a GriefShare group near you. If you would like to find a group for a friend or relative, try our Search Page. Want to read ahead or resend a previous daily email? Click Here Children Are with the Lord Day 164 Christians believe the only way to enter heaven is through God's Son, Jesus. But what about infants and small children who never reach the age to make a decision to receive Jesus? Dr. Luis Palau says, "I am convinced that little children who die in innocence, who don't know right from wrong, are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, and they are in the presence of the living God. The Bible clearly teaches that a brief life is not an incomplete life. We have our ideas of how long we should live, but the Bible says that every one of our days was written in God's book before they even happened. "All is well with your little child because she's [he's] in the presence of God the Father in absolute perfection. And you can rest on that because that's what the Word of God teaches." Little ones are not only in heaven, but are also safe in a joyous, precious place close to the heavenly Father. On earth, children are sometimes looked down upon, but in heaven they hold a special place of honor. The value of children was emphasized by Jesus who said in Matthew 18:10 that children have angels assigned to each of them in heaven. These angels are in intimate contact with the Father, whose nature is revealed throughout the Bible. Being true to His nature, the Father's concern could not stop at the death of a child. "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 18:10 nasb). Holy Father, as I close my eyes right now, please give me an assurance of the peace and joy that my child is experiencing in heaven right now. Amen. Grieving with Hope This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they're grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing. Look for Grieving with Hope by Samuel Hodges and Kathy Leonard at a local or online bookstore or at griefshare.org/hope. If you would like to recommend these daily emails to a friend, please click here and choose one of the options under Share. For more information about GriefShare, including how to sign up for these daily emails, please click here. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2003-2013 by The Church Initiative, Inc., All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without explicit permission in writing from Church Initiative. You subscribed to this daily email through www.griefshare.org. We value your privacy! We will never give, sell, rent, or otherwise share your email or personal information with any other organization — EVER. To remove this email address from further mailings Click Here while connected to the internet. If you have any problems or concerns, please contact dailyemailsupport@griefshare.org. GriefShare 250 S. Allen Rd. Wake Forest, NC 27587 (800) 395-5755