Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” When people we know pass away, and the good ones seem to pass away relatively early in life, we often ask why. We also ask why the ones we abhor seem to live a long time.
Under Romans 8: 28, God puts things into motion for the sake of goodness. To that end, He decides who passes away and who continues to live on earth. But if good people pass away we may also ask why God doesn’t continue to let them live. The best answer is that He has a purpose for each and every one. Individually, Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare2 and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Romans 8: 28 extends the plans to all of us as a whole. God doesn’t expect us to understand why He does what He does in individual circumstances; Proverbs 3:5 says to trust in God with all your heart and do not lean on your understanding.
It seems that it is in the spirit of Romans 8:28 that God uses disease to make people pass away. Often, people are cured of diseases that cause others to die. For the ones who live, God has not planned for them to pass on. For the ones who pass on, God has determined that they fulfilled their purpose on earth.
Granted that more people have died from particular diseases in the past than at present. Diseases like most cancers, smallpox, pneumonia and others were sure-fire killers then. But as time goes on the survival rate among those diseases have increased dramatically. Well, God did want us to be fruitful, and some of us to that end have become fruitful by successfully treating and curing us of diseases that were surely deadly in the past. Does that mean we are thwarting God’s Plans?
God’s Plans are never thwarted. If He decides for a person to pass on, they will. Which brings us to the subject of pancreatic cancer. 95% of people who get it, pass away from it. It has no early symptoms, and there is no way to test for it. Right now, it’s a sure-fire way of God to make individuals pass on who get it. Someday the survival rate from this disease will be much higher, and God may use other means to get people to pass on. Does that mean it gets harder for God? According to Luke 1:37, nothing is impossible with God.
And we are saddened when people we love, either personally or through things like their music, pass on. But if God has judged them to live a life of goodness, they are brought into His House, where there exist good things beyond our imagination. It is a place of paradise to be enjoyed forever by those who go there. So, although the good people have left us, including the ones who’ve earned a lot of earthly respect, we can hope to see them again in God’s House if we strive for goodness, and perhaps we can, for instance, hear the same soulful music that we heard from them on earth.
And, inasmuch as what we get from the Bible, which is a good place to look since 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is breathed out by God, we can surmise that those who are called up to God’s House have fulfilled the plans that God had for them. And if we fulfill the plans God has for us individually, our separation from those whom God brings up to His house is only temporary. After all, what is a few years compared to forever?
Under Romans 8: 28, God puts things into motion for the sake of goodness. To that end, He decides who passes away and who continues to live on earth. But if good people pass away we may also ask why God doesn’t continue to let them live. The best answer is that He has a purpose for each and every one. Individually, Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare2 and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Romans 8: 28 extends the plans to all of us as a whole. God doesn’t expect us to understand why He does what He does in individual circumstances; Proverbs 3:5 says to trust in God with all your heart and do not lean on your understanding.
It seems that it is in the spirit of Romans 8:28 that God uses disease to make people pass away. Often, people are cured of diseases that cause others to die. For the ones who live, God has not planned for them to pass on. For the ones who pass on, God has determined that they fulfilled their purpose on earth.
Granted that more people have died from particular diseases in the past than at present. Diseases like most cancers, smallpox, pneumonia and others were sure-fire killers then. But as time goes on the survival rate among those diseases have increased dramatically. Well, God did want us to be fruitful, and some of us to that end have become fruitful by successfully treating and curing us of diseases that were surely deadly in the past. Does that mean we are thwarting God’s Plans?
God’s Plans are never thwarted. If He decides for a person to pass on, they will. Which brings us to the subject of pancreatic cancer. 95% of people who get it, pass away from it. It has no early symptoms, and there is no way to test for it. Right now, it’s a sure-fire way of God to make individuals pass on who get it. Someday the survival rate from this disease will be much higher, and God may use other means to get people to pass on. Does that mean it gets harder for God? According to Luke 1:37, nothing is impossible with God.
And we are saddened when people we love, either personally or through things like their music, pass on. But if God has judged them to live a life of goodness, they are brought into His House, where there exist good things beyond our imagination. It is a place of paradise to be enjoyed forever by those who go there. So, although the good people have left us, including the ones who’ve earned a lot of earthly respect, we can hope to see them again in God’s House if we strive for goodness, and perhaps we can, for instance, hear the same soulful music that we heard from them on earth.
And, inasmuch as what we get from the Bible, which is a good place to look since 2 Timothy 3:16 says that all scripture is breathed out by God, we can surmise that those who are called up to God’s House have fulfilled the plans that God had for them. And if we fulfill the plans God has for us individually, our separation from those whom God brings up to His house is only temporary. After all, what is a few years compared to forever?
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