Reminder that heaven belongs to children

Jesus explicitly taught the Apostles and disciples that the Kingdom of heaven belongs to the children. While Jesus was being figurative about the innocence that is required for all who desire to be saved and achieve heaven, he was also being literal. Jesus explained that the guardian angels of children constantly face God. To put it in a modern technical term, Jesus was explaining that children, through their guardian angels and their inherent innocence, have a "seamless interface" with God. This was his way of explaining that children are sinless in the sense that they will achieve heaven should they die at a young age before they reach their ability to fully comprehend and self regulate regarding sin. Therefore it is obvious that the pre-born, the miscarried or the stillborn, babies, infants, toddlers and young children are assured of heaven, and one can be very hopeful of young teenagers also, since in this society teenagers really are not fully "men" or "women" in their maturity and discernment. However, one must not jump to conclusions about whether violent or sinful children in their late teens are saved, regardless of their hardship of background. If they are living fully aware and sinful lives as if an adult would, they have lost the childhood innocence that Jesus speaks of regarding assurance of salvation. Teenagers are not fully mature, and society must stop tempting them down violent and debauched paths. But at some point teenagers have made fully informed choices to follow those paths. However, when one reads of a tragedy about the loss of a good child, the sadness can be mitigated by the knowledge of Jesus having assured humans of their place in heaven.

A few days ago four sets of families received the terrible news that their four sons, all Boy Scouts, were killed when a tornado struck their camp. I know how heart rending it is to lose a child, and how one never really recovers. I am pleased to see that the parents of one of the Boy Scouts, Ben, have started fund raising to include underground shelters when the camp is rebuilt. This is one of my huge pet peeves: the lack of underground cellars, storm shelters or basements in both public facilities and private homes. I myself live in such a place and have been forced to live in 3 locations in the past six years that have not had an underground basement. I grew up in the generation that always had a home with a basement for shelter in not only storms such as the tornado, but also against excessive heat, in the days before air conditioning (that was a lifesaver for many generations of people and their children in sweltering heat). I am outraged at how so many homes and public facilities do not have underground storm shelters, and find this lack at scouting facilities to be astounding, frankly, astonishing and disappointing (but I've found, not surprising anymore). Prayers for their comfort and condolences.

The only comfort I can offer is that those who have lost infants and children can safely aspire to meet them again in heaven in the Lord's embrace. But I need to remind everyone that this is not automatic. Children in heaven are in a perfection of fullness and completion in God's home. It is a grace for parents to join them; they, strictly speaking, do not require any other companionship than those who they are with in heaven already. Parents must live godly lives full of belief and good works, shunning bitterness and occult practices, in order to join their children once again in heaven, for all eternity. I hope I've made that clear.