Finding Hope After Loss: Did My Son Go to Heaven?

Rico Lane [00:00:00]:
Hey. How y'all doing? I'm Rico, and this is another episode of Reddit Replies. I want you to do me a favor. Imagine the person you love the most, someone you truly care about, whether that's a parent, a child, just a loved one. Right? They're caught up in a fatal mistake or should I say a sin that cost them their life. Now as a Christian, you can't help but wonder what happens to them after they pass away. Right? You can't help but wonder that if God's gonna judge them, are they in heaven or hell because the last thing they did was a sin that caused them to die? Right? And it's not a theoretical question either. It's a real story that comes from a grieving mother.

Rico Lane [00:00:43]:
And so as I dive into this particular topic, like I said, I'm gonna operate with a little bit of grace. I'm gonna operate with a little bit of compassion. And I will ask that if you decide to comment in the comment section to do the same. But here's the story that is shared with us.

Reddit User [00:01:00]:
My 17 year old passed away 6 months ago. He was a very spiritual child and spent so much of his time in church, deeply worshiping Jesus. Not just because others were doing it. But because he truly loved Jesus and wanted to please him. He struggled with drugs and alcohol and had constant guilt and shame because of it. It tore him in 2 and deeply afflicted him that even though he wanted to do good, he kept messing up. He was doing so good after a rough year, he had a job, car, great relationships with his family and was a great big brother to his 2 siblings. Unfortunately, a friend gave him a pill and told him it was a Percocet.

Reddit User [00:01:49]:
He Googled it and clearly debated it the night of his death. We hung out in the kitchen laughing and joking. He hugged me and told me he loved me. We went to bed. But before he got into his bed, he had apparently tried a piece of that pill, leaving the rest on his dresser. He covered up and laid there the way he slept every night. His soul left his body that night. What I need to know is, did my son go to heaven? Did he go to hell because he was old enough to decide good versus evil? Was believing in Jesus and wanting to please him enough, given that he died in sin? It's tearing my soul apart.

Reddit User [00:02:36]:
He and I were closer that anyone. He was truly my best friend and my soul feels lost in this universe wondering what happened when he left his body. Did he go to heaven because he was 17? Can somebody tell me something?

Rico Lane [00:02:53]:
Man, I'm not gonna lie. This post kinda break my heart, man. I just can't even imagine what this mom is going through. Losing a loved one, especially a child, is a sorrow that words cannot describe right. And there's so much going on in here. So much I want to comment on. She has, you know, many difficult questions about what happened to her son after his soul left his body. It brings up questions about what happens when we leave this side of eternity.

Rico Lane [00:03:22]:
Right? And what does that judgment look like? She even asked that his belief in Jesus, was that enough? Because he died in sin Reddit ultimately shapes the way we look at sin. It ultimately shapes the way what we actually believe and what Christ did. Do we believe that Christ's sacrifice was enough for us? Do we believe that it's a gift that that that we can only accept, that we cannot earn? And so does one sin that happens right before you die, erase what Jesus did? These are all valid questions. And I can tell you too that, this is kind of the kind of stuff we wanna be thinking about as Christians before our loved ones pass away. This is why it's important to share the gospel. But, again, I wanna take this opportunity to, hopefully, help out by giving some words of truth from god's word. Because in situations like this, we got we can't really lean on our own understanding. We can't lean on our emotions because our emotions gonna veer us away.

Rico Lane [00:04:27]:
You know, we gotta go on what the word of God says and that's all we can go off of. So first, I wanna go to first John chapter 1 verse 9. Right? That particular passage assures us that if we confess our sins that he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. That's from all wickedness. Now just because somebody's going through certain things doesn't invalidate this. Right? You see, your son's love for Jesus, his worship, and his struggles show a heart that knew his savior and wanted to please his savior. I actually heard a pastor say something like, know, God forgives our sins but he blesses obedience. Right? And also too when you think about that atonement and what Jesus' blood did, they say it makes it like it never happened.

Rico Lane [00:05:23]:
So when God judges us, he judges us on what Jesus did and not what we did. Right? The mistakes he made, the battles he fought, they don't erase his faith or God's grace. Right? Making mistakes, sinning, slipping up, debate, you know, taking taking some drugs or whatever, that that doesn't erase your faith nor does it erase God's grace. It's just a moment of weakness, a moment of disobedience. And it is a sin, but the blood of Jesus washed away our sin. And before I go even further, I wanna say one thing to, kids out there. Is somebody told him it was a Percocet. He debated on taking it.

Rico Lane [00:06:07]:
So that was, in my opinion, the holy spirit telling him, don't do it. Don't do it. Because on this side of eternity there are consequences for our sins. That's just the Replies, right? Just because God forgives our sins don't mean we don't face consequences. So you never know when that one time you say yes to something will be the last time you're able to say yes to anything. But just understand what God promised us. Romans 10 verse 9 says, if you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. You see, salvation isn't about our perfection.

Rico Lane [00:06:48]:
It's about our belief in Christ and his perfect sacrifice. So when you ask, was his belief in Christ enough? The answer is yes, if he actually believed in Christ. Your son's love for Jesus and his desire to please him is the core of his faith. And if he truly believed in Jesus, then he is saved. Matthew verse 7 verse 1 does remind us too. This is for the people who wanna hop in the comments. Do not judge others and you will not be judged. Only God knows our hearts fully.

Rico Lane [00:07:16]:
It's not for us to say who's saved and who's not saved, especially based on their last moments or their struggles. Right? Although, I know some people gonna try to say that. Right? I used to always wonder this about suicide. If somebody committed suicide, would that automatically send them to hell? Going off the same thought process of his mother. Right? Because we know that murder is a sin. Killing yourself is a sin. And so if you do that right before you die, does that mean you go to hell? And the answer is I still don't really know. I think it ultimately boils down to what you truly believe in your heart.

Rico Lane [00:07:53]:
And I do believe that somebody can actually believe in God, actually trust him as a savior, but be going through something or may even be deceived and tempted by the devil to make a fatal mistake. But God is just and God is loving. He's gonna judge us accordingly, and you never know what somebody might be going through mentally, physically, spiritually, or emotionally that can lead to certain decisions that they make. But what I do know is that the requirement for salvation is belief in Christ. And so it's times like these that is crucial for us to remember the importance of sharing the gospel with our loved ones. We also need to share with our enemies. Right? Because we shouldn't wish hell on anybody. Tomorrow is a promise, and Jesus is the way to heaven.

Rico Lane [00:08:44]:
Matthew 28 verse 19 through 20 commands us, therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy Reddit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. You see, one, we are called to go out and make disciples, which means we gotta share the gospel with them for them to know Christ. But 2, we also gotta teach them to obey the things that Christ commanded. Which means even though we may be saved, even though we may be disciples, there's gonna be some times where we're gonna mess up and we gotta be corrected. And we gotta teach ones to not do that, to obey the teachings of Christ. Right? And so our mission is clear. That is to spread the hope and love of Christ to everyone we can while we can. Now let's take a moment to reflect on our relationships.

Rico Lane [00:09:36]:
Right? Are we sharing the hope that we have in Jesus? Are we living out the love that he commanded us to show? You see, time is precious. Once it's gone, it's gone. We always treat money, you know, as though it's precious. Right? But time is more precious than money. Last time I checked, they can print more money. They can't print more time. And the message of salvation is too important to keep to ourselves. Right? These are the kind of things we need to be.

Rico Lane [00:10:06]:
These These are the kind of conversations we need to be having with our loved ones and our neighbors often. Right? This is a call for you all to love a little bit deeper, to share a little bit more, and to trust in the mercy of god. Right? Just because you make a mistake doesn't mean you lose your salvation. And for anyone who's struggling, I wanna remind you that god's grace is sufficient. I need you to hear me on this. Don't make a permanent decision for a temporary problem. Right? Taking your life, doing something that's gonna end your life. That's only gonna that's that's that's a permanent decision for a temporary problem.

Rico Lane [00:10:45]:
And then guess what? You still gotta face eternity. And I don't know about you. I don't wanna have to go on the other side of eternity eternity and see God and answer for something I did right then and there when I could have leaned on him, trusted him, went to his word, asked him for his help, believed in his grace, and how to face him and explain even though I know he's gracious enough and if I believe in Christ, he will forgive me. I'm already forgiven. But that's still something you just don't wanna do, right? So if I earned it, do me a favor and hit that like button. Share it. Leave your, thoughts in the comment section. Add to the conversation.

Rico Lane [00:11:30]:
Right? Do it with a little bit of grace, but I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you think that if somebody commit a sin and then it results in a death while they're committing that sin that they're automatically going to hell? Is their belief in Christ is enough? Listen, I enjoyed this one. Even though it was a sad one. Even though somebody's life was lost. It was a good opportunity to share the gospel and to understand that Christ died for our sins and he love us and he, understands that we're gonna go through certain things in this life. But I think the overall message I wanna leave everybody is obey the words of Christ. Obey his teachings or you're gonna have to deal with consequences for whatever those consequences are. But if you believe in Christ, you will be saved.

Rico Lane [00:12:28]:
Until next time, do me a favor. Operate in love, operate in peace, and operate in the Holy Spirit. I'll catch you next time. Peace.