So how does a special needs child such as Landon go to heaven after they die? Is it different than any other person? These are tough questions but ones that we wondered and honestly had never had to think about or deal with. However, most everyone wonders about life after death and what if your family member has special needs or mental disability? In researching the answer to this question, we had to carefully follow and align with the truths and principles clearly taught in the Bible. Without the authoritative book, then any other answer becomes well meaning opinion. Yet the question of what happens to the mentally handicap was something we wanted an answer. And here is what we found…
There is only one way to go to heaven. The Bible is clear the way to heaven (and to God) is through salvation. That is, we must be saved from the sins that we have and will commit on earth (Rom. 5:12). Our sins keep us out of heaven (and there is the horrible alternative, Rev. 20:13-14) because God is perfect without sin and heaven has no sin or wrongdoing. Everyone has sinned (Rom. 3:23) including those with mental disabilities. In fact, we are born sinners just because we are decendents from Adam and Eve (Rom. 5:12). And yes, we can assure you that Landon has sinned! We are all guilty of sin and will be held accountable to be judged by God (Heb. 9:27) and the punishment is eternal separation from God and heaven. That is a BIG problem!
Yet God had a loving solution to our problem. His plan was to provide a way for sinful people to be forgiven of all sins and settle our sin debt ‘out of court’. God’s way to be forgiven of sins and be at peace with Him was for someone ‘qualified’ to pay our sin debt on our behalf, someone who had no sin and could satisfy God’s requirement of perfection on our behalf. That is exactly what Jesus, the son of God (Matt. 16:16), did for everyone including those with mental disabilities. He had no sin (1 John 3:5) yet voluntarily died a cruel sinner’s death and thereby Jesus paid the sin debt for our sins. That is called God’s grace. God the Son, Jesus, loved sinners and did not want them to perish. Jesus proved he was God in the flesh by performing tons of miracles, speaking the words of God, and by ultimately rising from the dead (Mark 16:6). Today Jesus is building up in heaven mansions (John 14:3) for those that are saved.
Ok, how then do you get Jesus to become your Savior and obtain salvation? We were so glad the Bible is clear and provides a simple answer: saving faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). That is, faith/believing in what Jesus did for us when he paid for our sins (God’s grace) and sincerely asking God for forgiveness of our sins, repenting (Luke 15:7),and professing Jesus as savior (Rom. 10:10) . When you do this, God changes us by living in us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:26) and becoming the boss of our lives. The best known Bible verses is John 3:16-18 that shows God’s love and desire for all to be saved.
But what about those mentally incapable to comprehend God’s grace and understand salvation? This is the heart of the issue. And essentially, the Bible teaches that for those that cannot understand (mentally disabled or young children) that they will be saved from for their sins because they are incapable of conscious, willful rejection of God’s grace and love. That is, God provided a way for all sinners to be saved, yet most sinners willfully reject God’s plan of salvation (Luke 10:16, John 12:48) and instead goes his/her own way (Matthew 7:13). Sinners reject God’s salvation through faith in Jesus for all sorts of reasons: pride (2 Tim. 3:2), they do not think they need a Savior (Rom. 1:21-22), or simply afraid or unwilling to do so (Rev. 21:8). But for those incapable of fully understanding, they are accredited the same saving faith through Jesus (John 14:6) and will be with God in heaven forever.
In summary, Landon will be in heaven and our family’s hope and prayer is that everyone Landon meets will be there too! Did you know that entry into heave requires reservations? In fact, the Bible teaches there is a great book called the Book of Life and if your name is written in it (by accepting Jesus as Savior) then you have a place in Heaven, otherwise, you still need salvation (Rev. 20:15). If you are unsure of your salvation then be saved today and don’t wait, please drop us a line and we would be privileged to help you make sure you are saved. Landon will be there and pray you will be as well.
Here are some excellent articles on this sensitive subject that we recommend.
Article 1 ; Article 2; Book: When God’s Gift Comes Specially Wrapped by Charles Swindoll
