Absent From The Body, Follow Up

Q

I saw your reply to the man who asked about absent from the body, present with the Lord. My question is this: today, my young nephew, in his twenties, died on his bike, when he ran into a truck, in another state.

He had asked my brother a few months ago, to help him with airfare, so he could come to our state and work and live. My brother said he didn’t have the money to help him with. Now my brother thinks that maybe if he had had the money, then maybe he would still be alive. He is trying to blame himself in some way.

What can I tell my brother? Was it just his time to go, or maybe would he still be alive if my brother had been able to send him money? I know that God does know when a person will die. Thank you so much.

A

Obviously if your nephew had been with you instead of where he was he couldn’t have died the way he did. But who’s to say that another worse fate wouldn’t have been waiting for him after he moved closer to you. This world is an evil place. And your brother had no way of knowing what was going to happen, or else he’d have tried to prevent it. We’re not responsible for things we couldn’t have known.

If your nephew was a believer he’s in a much better place now and his problems are all over forever. He wouldn’t come back here for all the money in the world. You’ll all be there with him soon and when he sees your brother he’ll thank him for not sending the money because it meant he was able to get there first.