Is My Baby in Heaven?

He is Risen. 

Hope moms, Jesus Christ is God, put on human flesh, and died for our sins that keep us eternally separated from God. He rose from death, conquering its power over those who believe. While joy in this season may be hard to come by (and that’s ok!), let this truth bring even a small flicker of light to chase away the darkness. 

In honor of the Easter season and the glorious future Jesus has won for us, this month we will be covering various ideas on the topic of Heaven. 

The first two weeks, Kelly and Jennie will cover Biblical answers to common Hope Mom questions: “Is my baby in Heaven? What if my baby would not have chosen Jesus? Is my baby saved?” 

Then Jennie will discuss what Scripture says about the nature of our heavenly babies and what our relationship with them will be like. Kelly will close out the month with a discussion about where our babies are right now (Present Heaven) and what their eternal future will be (The New Heavens and Earth).

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When William died, I received a lot of encouragement that he was with Jesus in Heaven. Because he was stillborn and never opened his eyes or made a sound, someone shared: “The first thing your baby saw when he opened his eyes was the face of Jesus.” What an absolutely stunning thought. 

And, yet, I wondered if I could trust this lovely idea. 

A skeptic by nature, I needed Scriptural proof that my precious firstborn was indeed in paradise with Jesus (Luke 23:43). He did not have the chance to express faith in Jesus as the covering for his sins, so how could I be sure he was saved? Even David expresses the reality of universal sin for all human life: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me (Ps 51: 5). Although painful and difficult to fathom, William was no exception. He, along with all other Hope Babies, inherited original sin with the rest of us. So how can we hope they are in heaven and we will see them again?

The Bible does have answers for us, reassuring answers, but they’re not as straightforward as we expect. To understand the Bible’s message of heavenly hope, we have to remember how to read it.

How the Bible Speaks
Since the Scientific Revolution, humans have been shaped to think scientifically about everything. We are accustomed to receiving direct, clear, provable answers to our questions. As a result, we often approach life’s trials expecting to receive precise explanations– the who, what, where, when, and why. 

Scripture, however, was not written by modern scientists. The Bible is ancient Jewish meditation literature, intended to be read repetitively, with intention, curiosity and reflection. While certain passages are straightforward (The 10 Commandments, The Sermon on the Mount, Romans 12), most of the Bible invites exploration and deeper engagement through study, contemplation, and prayer.

When it comes to Scripture and the eternal destiny of our Hope Babies, we should not expect to find a kind of “warranty statement” assuring us that every child who dies between conception and early childhood is automatically granted entrance into heaven.1  Instead we find something more beautiful: repeated messages of God’s love for children, along with King David’s confident assurance that he would one day be reunited with his own Hope Baby.

God’s Heart for Children
Throughout Scripture we see patterns of unborn children having a special relationships with God. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:15). David declares the Lord had been his God since birth (Ps 22), and God declaring he had known Jeremiah since before his conception (Jer 1:5). God is able and eager to form relationships with any of His people anytime, even before they are conscious of it. 

Jesus reveals His distinctive love for children by how often He spoke about and to them. He used children as his standard for entering His kingdom, as examples of faith, and made it very, very clear that they were to have unhindered access to him (Mat 19:13-14, Mat 18:2-4, Luke 18:16). Immediately before teaching the Parable of the Lost Sheep—revealing God’s passionate pursuit of those who are lost—Jesus makes a striking, cosmic-level statement about the value of children: see that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven (Mat 18:10). Children are elevated in Jesus’ mind: their angels even receive special treatment!

Might God extend a special kind of saving grace to “the least of these,” in ways that transcend our understanding of confession and repentance? I don’t believe we need to fear it is merely wishful thinking when we trust that our babies are in heaven. When we consider the patterns and emphases of Scripture,  it is not inconceivable that “God in his mercy and special love for children covers them with Christ’s blood.”2 Jesus loves your babies and they are safe with him. 

David’s Own Hope Baby
While Scripture offers many patterns that support our hope, it also gives us something deeply personal: the powerful witness of King David’s own experience as a Hope Dad. In 2 Sam 12:16-233, David heard from the Lord that his son with Bathsheba would become sick and die. David’s deep worry and anticipatory grief over his precious son is evident in his inability to eat, rise, or be comforted. After seven days of sickness, the baby died. When David learned of this, he responded in surprising ways: he took a bath, changed his clothes, went to the house of God and worshipped Him. When pressed by his servants to explain his behavior, David explained:

“While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’  But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (1 Sam 12:22-23). 

While we may be tempted to compare our own grief process to David’s, don’t miss the implication of David’s actions: among the agony of losing his son, David felt relief because he believed his baby was now safe in God’s arms, and he would be reunited with him one day. David was a Hope Dad who responded in faith: now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see (Heb 11:1). While our grief will take its own shape, we can share David’s confidence and assurance of their destiny. Our babies surely did open their eyes and immediately look upon the face of Jesus. 

Hope Mom, there is plenty to toil over in this life (Jn 16:33). But we can rest in this: God has our babies and God has us. Jesus has made sure that our babies would be covered in his blood, too.4 

Waiting for Heaven with you,
Kelly 

Resources:
The Hope Mommies blog is a wealth of comforting truth. If you want to learn more about infants in heaven and King David’s experience with the death of his baby, these two previous articles are good reads:
Heaven: Is My Baby There? (Part 1)
Heaven: Is My Baby There? (Part 2)

The Bible says a whole lot about Heaven (there’s more than you might think!). For a deeper dive, we recommend Randy Alcorn’s full volume titled Heaven. Hope Mommies provides a miniature version of this comprehensive work in our Hope Boxes.

Notes
1. Regarding “the age of accountability”: this notion declares that children are not held accountable to God until a certain age, and if the child dies before reaching the age of accountability (traditionally age 13) that child will be granted entrance into heaven. Scripture makes no reference to an age of accountability nor does it teach the moral innocence of children. All have sinned and stand guilty before God (Rom 3:23). Charles Spurgeon said “Some ground the idea of the eternal blessedness of the infant upon its innocence. We do no such thing. We believe that the infant fell in the first Adam…if infants be saved it is not because of any natural innocence. They enter heaven by the very same way that we do: they are received in the name of Christ.” (Spurgeon, Sermon 411, Sept 28, 1861). We at Hope Mommies believe the Bible declares our children experience salvation only through Christ’s work (1 Tim 2:5).
2. Alcorn, Randy. Heaven, p. 355.
3. This passage is most common biblical argument among scholars to support baby salvation
4. One reason God may have chosen not to include direct statements about baby heaven-going is that he knows the effect sin has had on humanity. If He made a clear statement, could it be that we would not search his scriptures for understanding and get to know our Bibles and Him better?  If he gave a direct answer, maybe our flesh would not sense the urgency in sharing the gospel with living children on earth. Or we would be unconcerned with the children all around the world who have great physical and spiritual needs. While we don’t have direct answers, I am grateful He makes us do the ‘hard work’ of searching, contemplating and praying through what He has provided. Is it not more personal and beautiful to read about Jesus’ love and David’s own experience? 

Kelly is the Ministry Support Lead for Hope Mommies. She and her husband Dan live in Brenham, TX with their two earthside children, Annabelle and Eli (and lots of pets). Their firstborn, William, went to Heaven in July 2017. To balance out the fullness of life, Kelly enjoys gardening, yoga, and sipping on some matcha while reading historical fiction. She considers herself beyond privileged to share the amazing news of Jesus’ Hope to all who need it, and loves that William gets to be a part of that message.