What happens to babies and children who die?

This is a question that cuts to the heart for anyone who has experienced the loss of a child, and I want to engage it with both honesty and pastoral care.

The Bible does not give a direct, systematic answer to this question — and we should be honest about that rather than presenting false certainty in either direction. What Scripture does give us is the character of God and several important data points.

David's response after the death of his infant son is one of the most significant passages: "I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." (2 Samuel 12:23). David expressed confident hope that he would see his child again — suggesting that the child was in a place where the redeemed go.

Jesus' response to children is consistently tender and welcoming. "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:14). While this is not a direct statement about the eternal destiny of all who die in infancy, it reflects the heart of Christ toward the young and vulnerable.

Romans 1:18-32 establishes that judgment falls on those who suppress the truth they have received. Infants and young children have not reached the point of moral accountability — they have not heard and rejected the gospel; they have not suppressed the truth. Many theologians argue that those who die before the age of accountability are covered by the grace of Christ without the conscious exercise of faith.

This is sometimes called the "age of accountability" position, though the Bible does not use this phrase. The idea is that God, who is perfectly just and perfectly merciful, deals with those who have no capacity to understand or respond to the gospel in keeping with His character — and David's confidence about his infant son supports this.

What I am fully confident of: God is perfectly just, perfectly merciful, and perfectly loving. Whatever He does with those who die before moral accountability, it will be exactly right. We can trust our children to Him.