"Don't worry. Only the good die young." This was the reply of an unbelieving man to his sister when she expressed concern that he wasn't ready to meet the Lord.

The parents of a young boy who died apparently had the same idea, saying, "He just seemed to be too good for this wicked old earth."

I am sure this sentiment cannot be proven, but I know of one instance when a child died because he was the only good person in his family. In 1 Kings 14:12-13, we read that young Abijah would die, be mourned, and be given an honorable burial because God "found something good" in him. Other members of his family lived a little longer, only to be executed as criminals (15:27-29). I believe that God, seeing the dreadful fate Abijah would have faced if he had continued to live, took him to heaven peacefully. His early death was indeed an act of God's mercy.

Through the years, I have often used this passage of Scripture to comfort those mourning the death of a baby, a child, or a young person. God alone knows what awaited them if they had lived. He may have delivered them from unbelievable distress by taking them home.

An early death can be God's mercy in disguise.    — Herbert Vander Lugt