Why Did God Let Children Die at a Christian Camp?

No doubt, every parent who sent their children to that camp prayed that God would watch over them and bring them home safely. He evidently did not. Yet across the media, you hear people in Texas saying they’re praying for the families and talking about God and His love. It doesn’t seem to make any sense.

Doesn’t this tragedy prove two things—that God either doesn’t exist, or He doesn’t care? However, there’s another explanation you probably won’t hear on television.

Every day, approximately 150,000 people die. Some are involved in car accidents, some drown, some die from falls, and many from cancer. Others die in hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and from starvation. Many of those 150,000 who will die in the next 24 hours will be children.

The biblical reason for this is that we live in a fallen creation—one that’s in rebellion against God. The Bible states that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and every one of these tragic 150,000 deaths (54 million annually) is evidence that what the Bible says is true.

Still, why did God allow more than 80 people to die in this flood? Some might think He was punishing those who perished. But that’s not a conclusion anyone should jump to. Jesus told us why:

“…those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
(Luke 13:1-5)

Why did this happen? Was it because they did something to deserve it? After all, we have precedents, such as the judgment of Sodom or the death of Ananias and Sapphira, when God’s patience came to an end:

“…whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
(Galatians 6:7)

Isn’t it justifiable, then, to blanket every tragic incident with that thought?

Well… no. We shouldn’t be so quick to make that judgment, considering how Jesus responded. He didn’t say those eighteen who died were being punished. Instead, He withheld any such conclusions—and neither should we—because we don’t know the mind of God.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?”
(Romans 11:33-34)

Those who hastily claim that every tragedy is God’s judgment are either ignorant or presumptuous, because His judgments are unsearchable and beyond human understanding. Unless Scripture explicitly states that an incident is divine retribution, we simply don’t know.

“Being a Christian doesn’t mean we are free from the terrible storms of life. However, it does mean that we find comfort in knowing that death has lost its sting for those who trust in Jesus, and that God promises to work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).”

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But there’s another reason we should remain silent on this point, one that Jesus also emphasized. He said:

“I tell you, no; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
(Luke 13:5)

In other words, if we claim that God punishes sin with disaster, we are all in serious trouble because of our own sin. If that were our philosophy, none of us would likely make it through the next day. Instead, we should thank God for His grace and mercy.

Being a Christian doesn’t mean we are free from the terrible storms of life. However, it does mean that we find comfort in knowing that death has lost its sting for those who trust in Jesus, and that God promises to work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

Therefore, we should rightly pray for those suffering and experiencing loss, and continue to proclaim the love of God, because He demonstrated His love for us by having Christ die on the cross. No matter how intense the storms of life become, nothing can change that.