GOOD PEOPLE DYING YOUNG
- Dr. Carol Elaine
- 3 days ago
- 8 min read
Recently, I wrote a short article on ‘Good People Dying Young,’ and because of the limited space given me I had to condense much of what could be said on this interesting subject. For sure, it is a topic that richly deserves to be addressed and addressed most thoroughly.
Why is it that good people die young? This is a question that all of us have tossed about in our heart and mind at some point in our lives. Perhaps you have reasoned, even as I have, that it could not be God’s will for their life to have ended so suddenly. After all, God is Healer, Deliverer, and the One Who gives long life. For someone’s life to end so quickly seems opposite of Who He declares Himself to be and His very essence. Yes, this is a theological discussion worthy of commentary.
An article about Smith Wigglesworth’s wife having died at a fairly young age recently crossed my desk. Polly’s last words to her husband really caused me to reflect on her early death as well as others who have died young. Polly's story caused me to search out the Word of God. What does God’s Word say about the good dying young?
The first person I thought of was John the Baptist. He died at age 33. My thoughts were that this was way too young for him to die! He was appointed and anointed. Surely, it wasn’t God’s will for his light to shine for such a short period of time only to have it snuffed out so quickly. In fact, his ministry lasted less than a year, meaning he preached and baptized only a few months! Was this God’s will? The answer to this question can be found in his calling.
John’s commission was told in the announcement the angel Gabriel made to his father, Zacharias, and was also revealed in Zacharias’ prophecy which was given immediately after his birth. “16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. ... 76 ...for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways” (Luk. 1:16–17, 76).
John’s life began with promise. His birth was surrounded by supernatural events. His parents were older, and his mother was barren until she conceived him. His father had an angel appear to him and speak to him about John’s birth, name, and calling. John leapt in his mother’s womb, recognizing the voice of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luk. 1:41). His name was given to his father, a name that was specifically chosen by God. John was one of only seven whose name was given before they were born. The tradition at the time was to name the child after the father. When the time came for John’s circumcision, their neighbors and Elizabeth’s cousins came to celebrate the occasion and called John by his father’s name to which Elizabeth answered, “Not so, but he shall be called John” (Luk. 1:60). John means “God is gracious.” John would proclaim God’s grace to the world.
Approximately 700 years before John was born, a great prophet of Israel, Isaiah, prophesied of John’s ministry, saying, “The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa. 40:3).
Take note that John was in the desert (wilderness) until his public appearance. Why was he there? Many theologians believe he was with the religious sect referred to as the Essenes. We learn from historical writings of this community of Jews who lived and worked in the desert, even in place there called Qumran. The Essenes were known for their ascetic (ritual, dietary purity) lifestyle, communal living, and strict adherence to Jewish law. The dietary laws seem a fit with John since he was described as eating locust and wild honey.
Evidence showed that the Essenes studied the Scriptures, even transcribing it. The suggestion has been made that John came to the place in the Book of Isaiah where the prophet foretold of him and that was when he put down his scribal pen and went preaching in the wilderness desert.
JOHN WAS THE FORERUNNER OF JESUS
John was the forerunner of Jesus. The Bible tells us he came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luk. 1:17). In fact, he even dressed like him! “And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey” (Mar. 1:6). Tradition says that it was the very mantle of Elijah which was given to Elisha that John wore (2Ki. 1:8; 2Ki. 2:13–14). The mantle was given then to John by his father, Zacharias, the priest, who worked in the Temple. It was said he took it from a hidden compartment in the Altar of Incense where it had been preserved.
JOHN INTRODUCED JESUS TO ISRAEL
John introduced Jesus to the people of Israel, saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world” (Joh. 1:29). The introduction of a person is vitally important. It can never be redone. John was given the privilege of introducing Jesus to the nation. He could have introduced Him in a myriad of ways—Behold my cousin—Behold the Son of God—Behold Wisdom—Behold Creator—Behold your Messiah. These things were all true about Him. John though introduced Jesus as the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb. For centuries, about 1500 years at that time, the Jews celebrated the Passover Feast with a lamb, remembering their deliverance from Egypt. John introduced Jesus as the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb. John made known to Israel that something wonderful was happening in the nation that would affect the whole world. Moreover, the next day, John standing with two of his disciples, said it again, “And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God!” (Joh. 1:36).
JOHN UNDERSTOOD HIS MINISTRY WAS COMING TO AN END
“And they came to John, and said to him, Rabbi, He that was with you beyond Jordan, to Whom you bare witness, behold, the same baptizes, and all men come to Him” (Joh. 3:26). By his reply to his disciples we recognize that He understood that his ministry was coming to an end, for he said in reference to Jesus’ ministry, “He must increase, and I must decrease” (Joh. 3:30).
WHY DID JOHN THE BAPTIST DIE YOUNG?
Why did John the Baptist die young? He fulfilled his calling and commission. He prepared the way of the Lord and made public proclamation of Him to Israel.
Mary Jane “Polly” Featherstone (AD 1859–1913) became the wife of the famous healing pioneer, Smith Wigglesworth (AD 1859–1947), also known as the Apostle of Faith. Varying reports give the number of people that were raised from the dead in his ministry as being 14 to 21 people. Wigglesworth was not hesitant to credit Polly for his ministry. He said, “All that I am today I owe, under God, to my precious wife. Oh, she was lovely!”
Polly’s conversion came through the ministry of the Salvation Army, in the town of Bradford, (West Yorkshire) England, having moved there from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, where she had taken a job working in a large, fine house. She said that one day she heard trumpets and shouting outside. Curious as to what was happening, she followed the “noise” and watched as the marching Salvationists, dressed in military fashion, filed into a large, dilapidated building. Gypsy Tilie Smith, sister of the famous evangelist, Gypsy Rodney Smith, was preaching salvation through the blood of Jesus.
Polly responded to the salvation invitation by going down to the front, falling on her knees, and calling out to God to save her. At length, she stood up, threw her gloves in the air, and shouted, “Hallelujah! It is done!” Sitting in the audience, not far from her, a young man watched her intently. Hearing her testify the next day, Wigglesworth felt she belonged to him and fell deeply in love with her. They were married in 1882 when they were both 23 years old.
It was Polly who taught Wigglesworth how to read. Wigglesworth was uneducated and illiterate, due to his working a full-time job at age six to help the family, and at age seven, he went to work in a mill, working 12 to 14 hours a day. Even his speech reflected his lack of education. He could not pronounce ‘h’s, and he would say for “He’s healed,” “e’s ‘ealed.” The Bible became the only book he ever read. Of the two, Polly was the better preacher. Methodist ministers called her to evangelize their churches, and hundreds were converted through her ministry. The power of God rested heavily upon her.
Smith Wigglesworth went through a backslidden time, with his hunger and fervor for God waning. When he forbade Polly to go to church, she refused, saying something like he may be her husband, but Christ was her Savior. Smith said of himself, “...such a bad temper I used to have, it made me tremble all over and it would make me furious with its evil power. Smith’s brusque manner remained with him the rest of his life, but she, too, was a woman who said what she thought, and she did not hesitate to tell him the truth when he sought to refute it. Polly stood firm in her faith until her husband returned to the fold.
On Nov 13, 1913, Polly said “Smith, watch me when I’m preaching. I get so near to heaven when I’m preaching that someday I’ll be off.” That night while preaching, she died. Smith said he rebuked the spirit of death and prayed over her, saying, “In the name of Jesus, death give her up.” Polly’s eyes opened. Smith said, “Polly, I need you.” She answered, “Smith, the Lord wants me.” He wondered: “How could I go on without her?” The Lord said to him, “She’s mine. Her work is done.” Smith said to Polly, “My darling, if the Lord wants you, I will not hold you.” She smiled as he kissed her cheek tenderly. Then he simply said, “Good-bye for the present.”
CONCLUSION
Why did John the Baptist die at age 33? He was so young. Why did Smith Wigglesworth’s wife, “Polly” die at age 53? She also was too young. The answer for these two deaths lay in the answer...They had fulfilled their calling.
Another reason God allows good people to die young is conveyed in 1 Kings. God spared the baby of the evil king, Jeroboam, from the evil times to come (1Ki. 14:13), saying because he found something good in the child. There was a horrific invasion and captivity that loomed ahead for Israel that only God knew about. Isaiah confirmed this reason that some die young by saying some die and are “taken away from the evil to come” (Isa. 57:1). The Apostle James died of martyrdom in his 40’s. Why? The answer is that he had finished his course.
Polly knew her time had come to an end. What purpose did she fulfill? She taught her husband to read the Bible and stood in faith until he took his place in ministry.
In conclusion, one’s purpose can be fulfilled at a young age, causing them to have a short lifespan, or as the Prophet Isaiah said, God spares His children from the evil time to come.