People often ask, “Why do the good die young?”

Why did my father die at 38, leaving behind a 28-year-old widow with three children, 7 and under?

Why did my first husband die at age 30? Or my oldest son when he was 25? Or my son-in-law when he was 43?

People come up with various “answers” to make themselves feel better, and many of those “answers” are downright wrong. Even the best of them miss the point. The point is, it isn’t about us, or the departed loved one at all… it’s about God, and His purposes. It’s about Christ, His redemption, and His interceding for us, praying always that those whom the Father has given Him, will be with Him where He is.

We are so often at cross-purposes with Him. He says, “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold my glory.” (John 17:24)

We say, “Father, I will that my loved one be with me where I am.”

The soul cannot be in both places; with Christ and with me too. I’m learning to say, “Lord, Thou shalt have them.” By faith I let them go.

This goes for life here on the earthly plane as well. I still miss my next-door neighbour, who moved away four months ago. I know we would have seen a lot more of one another during this current crisis, if she were just down the hall rather than across town. But God has His reasons for wanting her there and me here.

I am grateful for what He gives, and I am learning not to lament His workings, nor even to ask why. I don’t need to know why. I only need to know our sovereign God knows. He never makes a mistake, and His timing is always perfect.