“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” John 3:16. What great news! Since God loves all humans, he wants us living with him. In fact, our heavenly Father loves us so much that he provided a way for us to escape the mess we made for ourselves. God never intended for humans to suffer or die or act selfishly or feel afraid. Our sinfulness brought all these things into the world. But God wants those he loves being near himself so John 3:16 points out that everyone who accepts Jesus as Savior is rescued from the bad effects of sin. Then, when this life on earth ends our human spirit goes to be with God eternally. We live in paradise!
But what about babies who are aborted or little children who never hear about Jesus? Read Jesus’ words in Matthew 18:10. In this verse Jesus points 
out that children—from the moment of conception—have guardian angels. These angels watch over the little child and have access to our heavenly Father’s presence. Read Matthew 19:13-14. In these two verses parents brought their little children to Jesus for him to lay his hands on them and bless them. The apostles thought Jesus was too busy, so they told the parents that Jesus couldn’t help them right now. When Jesus understood what the apostles were doing he said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
2 Samuel 12 tells us about a child King David and Bathsheba had. It died not too long after birth. Notice what David said about his future and his deceased little boy: “I will go to him,” 2 Samuel 12:23. In other words, David expected that when he died he would join his little boy. All of these verses are showing us that babies and little children go to heaven.
Every child grows and matures. At some point each of us reaches what we call the “age of accountability.” This means that the child or young person must receive Jesus as their Savior. This age of accountability varies from child to child. For example, my wife Delores received Jesus when she was nine years old and I accepted him as my Savior at age six. There are some things we just don’t know. Winners in life always concentrate on what they do know, not what they don’t know.
Here’s what we know about the Lord. He wants everyone living with him eternally! He paid the high price of giving his own life to forgive us of our sins so we could live with Him. Then, Proverbs 3:5 wonderfully states, “Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” There are lots of things nobody understands, but we don’t worry about that because we know God will do what’s best and right.
What about people who never hear of Jesus? Well, this question places great responsibility on all of us who know Jesus as our personal Savior. We must do everything we can to help spread the news about Jesus and the salvation he offers everyone. Please read Matthew 28:18-19. Here Jesus tells us to do our best to let everyone know about accepting Jesus as Savior. Not everyone who hears the good news welcomes it, but our job is to give everyone the opportunity to hear about Jesus. Now read Acts 1:8. This verse records the words of the resurrected Jesus who told us that the power of the Holy Spirit will help us be witnesses in all the world so people can hear about the salvation that comes through Jesus.
When fear about the future attempts to rob you of peace, quote Psalm 56:3 to yourself: “When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” Then reinforce your power to choose peace with Isaiah 12:2: “I will trust and not be afraid.”
Jesus, the Prince of peace, is one with your spirit. “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit,” 1 Corinthians 6:17. You don’t always feel him near; you aren’t continually aware of his presence. But as we saw earlier, he doesn’t change, so the peace of God that is Jesus doesn’t appear and disappear. When you don’t feel peace, choose it! You can, because God declared, “The Lord blesses his people with peace,” Psalm 29:11.
As we look to Jesus, the origin of substantial peace, we will enjoy freedom from this world’s unreliable, flimsy peace that disappears like a mirage.
