Those of you who know me are probably saying right now… “I thought you were an only child!”  Well, I am… but at one time I wasn’t.  Let me explain…

My brother was born on April 12, 1963.  Due to severe birth deformaties he only lived a few hours.  My little brother, Lloyd Ethridge, died on April 13, 1963.  Today he would have been 44 years old.

I’ve wondered… would he be taller than me?  Smarter than I am?  Better looking?  More athletic?  Would he have had curley hair…  blue or brown eyes?  Would he have been a great singer?  What kind of personality would he have had?  Would I have nephews and neices by now?  Would his kids like playing with my kids?  Would we be close?  The answer to that one is a decided yes! 

The only memory I have is being at his funeral in Oneonta, Alabama and throwing rocks with my cousin Dale.  Past that I do not have any memories of him.  Although I never met him… even though we never played together… in spite of the fact that we never had the chance to get into fights and arguments… I miss my brother.  There have been many times I wished he would have lived.  But that was not God’s will.

But one day I will meet him!  One day we will talk.  One day I will see him, he will see me, and we willl hug… laugh… and spend many hours together catching up on things that only siblings can do.  It won’t be in this life… it will be when I meet him in heaven.  And oh how I look forward to that day!  I know my mom looks forward to it too… much more than I do.

That brings me to two thoughts: 1) In heaven we will know our loved ones.  2) All babies who die go to heaven {Including miscarriages and aborted babies}.

  About Knowing Our Loved Ones.  The Apostles knew Jesus on sight after the resurrection.  The relationship didn’t end, it was immesurably enhanced.  When Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John immediately knew who they were even though they’d never met.  So I think in heaven we not only know our loved ones, we will know every single person in heaven better than we know our closest friend on earth.  And yes, I do think we’ll remember that we had a relationship with them in this life…

  About All Babies Going To Heaven.  Click to read Revelation 7:9.  In this passage of Scripture people of EVERY nation, people, tribe, and language are in heaven as part of God’s family.  The ONLY way this could be true is if all babies go to heaven when they die.  I say that because some people groups live for generations without hearing the name of Jesus.  I believe that it is the babies from those groups who died in their infancy that make up part of those who will be in heaven.  Not only that, when David referred to his infant son who died, it is recorded he said this… “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23).  I take that to mean that when David died, he knew he’d see his child in heaven.

So Lloyd… one day I wil see you.  On that day we’ll catch up on all the stuff we missed in this life.  At that time we’ll get to know each other and have all the discussions we never got to have here.  Just know that I love you and look forward to seeing you.  God bless and be looking for me up there before too long.

Your Big Brother,

Ron