How Do I Trust God with the Eternal Destiny of My Child? // Ask Pastor John

We know God will accomplish his purposes for good, but he doesn’t promise our children’s eternal good. How can we be satisfied in God with this unknown?

Welcome back to the podcast. Today’s question is not uncommon. We very often hear it from Christians who came to embrace Reformed theology in college or shortly thereafter. And those same believers are now having children of their own. They are now building a family with children that may or may not be elect in Christ. That reality raises huge questions for young Christian parents, like a young mom named Alex.

She writes, “Pastor John, my life has been different ever since I first heard you speak at Passion as a college student. I am so thankful for your life and ministry (and I’m getting emotional as I write this). By God’s grace and through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, your teaching and the resources at Desiring God have made such a huge eternal impact on my life. Thank you.

“My question: My son is not even two months old and has significant health concerns. We’ve known about the issues for about six months, and during this time, God has been working something wonderful in my heart as I’ve submerged myself in Scripture like never before. However, I find myself consistently discouraged by this fact: I know that Scripture does not guarantee my son’s physical healing, and it also does not guarantee my son’s salvation. I know that because I have been saved by grace, I have a glorious hope, and these trials that I am facing are temporary, so that gives me comfort for myself. But what about my son? I find myself grasping for some sort of truth to give me hope for him, but I can’t seem to find any. I know that God will accomplish his purpose for an overall good, but he doesn’t guarantee my son’s eternal good. I know it is sinful to feel this way, but I can’t seem to be satisfied with God accomplishing his ultimate good purpose knowing that it may come with the cost of my son’s life. Is this just something I need to accept?”

Episode 1358: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-do-i-trust-god-with-the-eternal-destiny-of-my-child

Related Resources:

“Why Have Kids If They Might End Up in Hell?” https://youtu.be/G2nNslhwab8

“How Do I Show Kindness to My Children and Expect Them to Obey?” https://youtu.be/BjI9sNy2Lf0

“If Babies Go to Heaven, Why Oppose Abortion?” https://youtu.be/tH5nt_NzR9Y

“Why Does God Choose Some and Not Others?” https://youtu.be/Vuv8lnbNXrs

Ask Pastor John Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFF7F6AE365DA3564

Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes, http://desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john