Where Our Unconverted Children Are Headed

HARVEST OF HELL — One of the hardest truths any of us must ever speak is when we are compelled to acknowledge that an unconverted child stands condemned before God. I don’t make this statement lightly; I fully understand the pain, the grief that accompanies such an admission. Parents love their children—each one. When a child is honoured, no one is prouder than that child’s parents. In the same vein, when a child stands condemned, no one is more grieved than the parents of that child. The heart of a parent is intimately entwined with the life of the child. The thought of eternal separation from a child is devastating for a parent.

It is humbling to admit, but the words of the Master yet stand. We need to hear Jesus when He warns, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” [MATTHEW 10:34-37].

Jesus’ final challenge addresses the position I’ve just advocated. Focus on the Master’s words: “Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” It is not that we do not love the wayward child—we love them dearly! It is that if we are put in the position of choosing child over Christ, there can be no question of where our loyalty lies. In fact, it is only because we love Christ supremely that we are enabled to love our children fully and as we ought.

It is devastating for a parent when a child proves the reality of the fallen nature that contaminates all of mankind. No individual is saved because he or she had a godly father or a godly mother. No individual is set free of condemnation before the Living God because a grandfather sided firmly with the Lord God. A colloquial saying once bruited about, averred, “Every tub sits on its own bottom.” Applying that saying directly to the current issue, we are assured that every individual must choose for himself, for herself, whether or not Christ will reign over the life of that individual. Few things illustrate mankind’s fallen nature more than the obstinate choice to refuse Christ’s gracious offer of salvation despite seeing the grace of God revealed through family.

To be certain, failure to teach our children may contribute to their damnation. Allowing children to “have it all” without teaching them to accept responsibility may contribute to their eternal judgement. Though there are many things that can contribute to a child’s condemnation before the Living God, ultimately, judgement rests on the child herself or himself. Ultimately, each of us make our own choices, and we must bear responsibility for what we choose.

This is especially true in light of what John has written concerning belief in the Son of God. You will remember that John wrote, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” [JOHN 3:16-21].