DIFFICULT QUESTIONS

As a parent of two children with special needs, one of my biggest concerns is about their salvation.  

We talk and teach the boys about God's plan of salvation and what it means to accept Jesus as their Savior.  But with their cognitive delays, I wonder if they will ever totally understand these concepts.

I think any Christian parent struggles with worrying about where their child is at with their faith and hoping and praying they will come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.  As parents, we want to know our child is assured of spending eternity in heaven someday.

The added layer with being a parent to a child with cognitive delays is not knowing if that child will ever be able to make that decision with full understanding.

In my quest for answers, I have come across these resources that really being peace to my mind and soul about this issue.

1. Pgs. 149-151 from The Heaven Answer Book by Billy Graham

"Does God allow people into Heaven who are mentally handicapped and don’t fully understand He loves them and accepts them just as they are? God has the pulse of eternal life in His hand, and He knows the limitations of each of us. None of us are saved because we understand everything there is to know about the heavenly Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Salvation comes based on confessing sin and receiving God’s gift of grace. Babies, young children, and the mentally handicapped cannot comprehend their limitations or the truths of God’s plan of salvation—but God, in His grace, receives each of them just as they are and changes their hearts. A tender passage in Scripture is when the little children gathered around Jesus. They didn’t have any profound understanding of who He was or why He came, yet He welcomed them and told His disciples, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14). God has much to teach us through infants and children with special needs. They are completely dependent on others; they must trust their caregivers for everything. There is a lesson for us when Jesus says that we must become as little children. He meant we must place our complete trust in Him, giving up our desires for His, and allow Him to direct our every step. Scripture sheds light on this difficult subject. Solomon says that a stillborn child is better off than one who disregards his own life (Ecclesiastes 6:3 nkjv), and Job cursed the day he was born and said, “Why did I not perish at birth? . . . For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest” (Job 3:11, 13). If you have babies and handicapped children who have been taken from you by death, receive comfort in the sovereignty of the God of love. Commit to teaching others, who do have the capacity to understand the gospel, that God stands ready to cover our sin with His mercy and grace. Do not weep for those in His care, but for those who have not yet found that place of safety in the Savior’s comforting love."

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2. "How Should Christian Parents Respond to Having a Child with Down Syndrome?

The whole article is very good, but here is one excerpt that was particularly interesting to me:

"If God has entrusted Christian parents with a child who has any kind of disability, those parents can be assured that God has a purpose for them to bring glory to Him by their loving response—and God will provide the grace necessary to provide the proper response."

3. "Where Do I Find the Age of Accountability in the Bible?

Again the entire article is worth reading, but I liked this particular excerpt:

"It is our position that God applies Christ’s payment for sin to babies and those who are mentally handicapped, since they are not mentally capable of understanding their sinful state and their need for the Savior, but again we cannot be dogmatic. Of this we are certain: God is loving, holy, merciful, just, and gracious. Whatever God does is always right and good, and He loves children even more than we do."

Great resources and some comforting thoughts for this mother's heart.

However the bottom line is two-fold:

1. I still am responsible to speak and teach God's truth to my boys and pray for whatever level of understanding is possible for them.

2. I need to entrust my boys and their hearts and souls to the Lord.  He has watched over them in the womb and provided them with a family. He loves them and cares for them, and He wants what is best for them.