A Question I keep trying to Answer, Maybe this is it

I have a friend in North Dakota who's son was far from God. Then he got right with God. He repented from his sins and began to turn his life around. Then a week later he was logging in the woods, a tree fell on him and killed him.

This dear brother and his wife asked me and others "why did this happen"? The answer was hard. God didn't kill their son. God withdrew his hand of protection and allowed him to be taken because he knew what the future would have been if he hadn't. He was protecting him from the evil to come. He was making certain that his legacy would be one of salvation, protection and rest in Jesus rather than backsliding again as he had so often before.

Would Harold and his wife rather the boy lived in sin and degradation and gone to hell as had been the pattern of his life in the past or is this a better outcome. They miss him deeply. He was a great kid. He's safe from the enemy now.

The warning is sobering even to me. If after knowing what I know, I continue to sin against God there is a sin that leads to death. God would rather have me home with him than here and headed for hell. Here's a verse to consider:

Isaiah 57:1-2 (New Living Translation)

1 Good people pass away;
the godly often die before their time.
But no one seems to care or wonder why.
No one seems to understand
that God is protecting them from the evil to come.
2 For those who follow godly paths
will rest in peace when they die.

It's sobering to even think about. It's more sobering if it's you or me. Raise your children to be Godly and warn them of the consequences of drifting from him. It can be a matter of life and death for them.