Thanks for listening to the Aspastur John podcast.

We get a lot of really good questions via email and many of them are from international

listeners like this one, a heavy question.

Hello, Pastor John, I am Nate from Manila, Philippines and I've struggled with this one

question my entire life.

My best friend passed away because of meningitis when we were 12 years old and since then

I've been doubting how much God keeps his promises.

He was a pastor's kid, he grew up in the church, he loved God and he honored his parents

very much.

If Ephesians 6 verses 2 and 3 tells us of the commandment with the promise of long life,

why does it seem like God didn't keep it from my best friend?

I really empathize with Nate and it's not hard to see how he and his friend would take

from Ephesians 6, 2 and 3 the meaning that God promises to each individual child who

honors his parents a long life on the face of it seems to say that.

Here's what it says, honor your father and mother.

This is the first commandment with promise referring back to Exodus 20 verse 12.

This is the first commandment with promise in the 10 commandments.

That it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.

This is why parents and pastors should teach a full-blown biblical doctrine of suffering

and death, not just later in life, but to children as well.

When children die or lose a parent or a sibling or a friend, they need a solid foundation

of teaching in order to understand what's happening to them.

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