A hint of fall is in the air and leaves are beginning to turn. This week I watched the first leaves falling from some trees near our house. Most of the leaves still look green and vibrant, but some fall early.

Over the past few months we have all had friends who have been called to Heaven. At least from our vantage point, many of them seem to have been taken too soon. Why do good men die early? Why are godly people taken so soon?

The mysteries of God are just that – the mysteries of God. There is so much we do not understand, but He knows. He planned it all. In the words of David, “My times are in thy hand” (Psalm 31:15).

There is a truth I have been meditating on recently. It does not answer all of our questions but it does give a divine perspective to the death of a believer. The Old Testament prophet wrote in Isaiah 57:1, “The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.” Do you see it? It is one of the reasons that God calls righteous men home early. In His mercy He is taking them away from further evil. We continue to wade through the wickedness of this world but they have been taken to a land where there is nothing but light. For them, the shadows have passed.

I have been praying for several families this week. Wives, children, loved ones who have had to say goodbye much sooner than they every imagined. A sovereign God chooses to take some and leave others. 

Yes, some fall early. Consider this: the falling of the leaves is just an indicator that a new season is around the corner. In a short time we will all be with Jesus. Some will go through the door of death and some will be raptured at the return of Christ, but all of the Lord’s people will be planted soon in a better land. 

A better season is coming.

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die…He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2, 11).