God gives and takes away. He is sovereign in bringing forth life, and He is sovereign in when that life will end. In the case of people dying young, many would say "He/she died before their time" or "their life was cut short." I know what people mean when they say that, I've said it as well, but is it reality? What I mean is simply if God is sovereign and He orchestrates life, then wouldn't it be true that God knew this person would only live into their 20's or that person would die still a child? If that is true, then that means they lived a full life...according to what God had appointed for them to live. This may seem kind of strange to think about, but when you've known someone who's life has ended at a young age, for some reason the reality of God's sovereignty is quite comforting. It's comforting to know God hadn't intended for them to get married and have a family. The thought that they lost that opportunity only by accident leaves me angry and asking, "why?" But knowing God had a better plan reminds me it's not by accident but by purpose for that person to have been taken. Knowing God has a purpose in all He does is so comforting. We may not ever fully understand that purpose, maybe just have glimpses of it, but that's where faith steps in- "faith is the ASSURANCE of things hoped for, the CONVICTION of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1)
An example of this is Ryan Rendleman. Died at age 22, two weeks before graduating from SIU. He was driving to do a story for the school newspaper when he was killed in an automobile accident. I believe God had a purpose in taking Ryan life at such a young age. I'd rather think that than trying to take comfort in thinking his death was an accident and all by chance; I find no console in that. Ryan was a wonderful Christian who wanted to do great things or God and help people around the world. One could think that he missed out on his dreams and desires, but I believe that God had something better for Ryan. I know that God will use Ryan's life and death to touch people's lives all over this world, more than he already has done. Ryan wrote in his journal, "For a believer, death is like victory in that we are forever with Jesus. So then, we should grieve if someone dies, but it is a bit selfish because really we grieve our loss in the death of a particular person. If Jesus is their God, we should celebrate!" A website was made in honor of Ryan by his brother Nick, www.ryanrendleman.org.
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