Tuesday, June 9, 2009

GOD’S TIMING IN CALLING PEOPLE HOME

Why would God choose to call someone home who is doing good for the kingdom here on earth?

I can't answer this question specifically because only God knows why He takes us when He does.

But let me point you in the right direction. The Bible says that God takes people home for a number of reasons. Here are three:

1. To protect them from future pain. In Isaiah, God tells us that sometimes He takes a person to Heaven to spare them the agony of greater pain in life. "The righteous man is taken away from evil. He enters into peace (Isaiah 57:2)."

2. Their job is through. Sometimes God takes people to Heaven because their earthly assignment is over. He had a purpose for their lives on this side of Heaven, and when that has been accomplished, He takes them home.

When the Apostle Paul was at the end of his life, he said, "The time of my departure has come . . . I have finished the course." (2 Tim. 4:6-7).

3. Discipline. Sometimes God takes believers home because they've made such a mess of their lives that He rescues them by taking them to Heaven. Just because someone becomes a Christian doesn't mean they can't make huge mistakes that are deadly.

An example of this is King Saul in the Old Testament: "[13] Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance" 1 Chron. 10:13 (NIV). I have prayed that if I ever fall away from Christ as a Minister, that He would take me home rather than allow me to bring reproach to His Name.

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