When tragedy strikes, many well-meaning believers rush to comfort with phrases like:

• “God took them.”

• “God allowed it for a greater purpose.”

• "God needed another angel."

• “It was their time—God knows best.”

When our twin nieces died suddenly of cot death in 2006, Christians tried to comfort me by saying, “God needed them in heaven.”

Nothing boiled my blood—or built more resentment toward God—than those kinds of statements.

At the time, I wasn’t saved. But when I finally encountered Jesus a few years later, I learned the truth from Him.

He wasn’t responsible for their death—or for the years of pain and darkness that followed. That confusion didn’t come from Christ. It came from tradition, religion, and empty clichés that tried to explain what they couldn’t understand.

Phrases and cliches like the above sound comforting. It sounds spiritual. It sounds like surrender. But it’s not what Jesus ever said—or lived.

Here’s the problem:

When we call death God’s will, we make Him the author of something Jesus came to destroy.

When we say God “took someone” through tragedy, we accidentally assign death a divine purpose it never had.

We create confusion in the very heart of the gospel: Jesus came to conquer death—not collaborate with it.

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being.” – Hebrews 1:3

Jesus didn’t come to reinterpret the Father. He came to reveal Him—exactly as He is. That means if Jesus never sent death… The Father never has either.

Jesus only gave life. He raised the dead. He wept at the grave. He healed the sick. He cast out the destroyer.

He never once attributed death to His Father.

“The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10

That’s the dividing line.

If it kills—it’s not Jesus. If it gives life—it’s from Him.

1. Death Entered Through Sin—Not God

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone.” – Romans 5:12

Death came through human choice, not divine design. God warned Adam, but didn’t cause the consequence.

Free will opened the door—not God's hand.

2. Death Is an Enemy, Not a Servant

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:26

If death is an enemy, then God is not using it as a friend. He’s not hiring the thief to accomplish Kingdom work. That’s spiritual doublespeak—that Jesus rebuked.

"A house divided cannot stand." (Mark 3:24–25)

God isn’t sending what Jesus came to destroy. He’s not killing what Jesus came to save.

3. Satan Held the Power of Death

“...so that by His death, He might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.” – Hebrews 2:14

Let it be clear: God never held the power of death. Satan did. Jesus didn’t come to defeat His Father’s weapon—He came to destroy Satan’s.

That means every funeral, every tragedy, every senseless death—was never God’s design. And if Jesus wept at a tomb, so does the Father.

God gave humanity the gift of freedom. But with that freedom came the possibility of rebellion—and with rebellion came death.

“The wages of sin is death…” – Romans 6:23

Not because God demanded death. But because death is what sin produces.

Sin separates. Sin decays. Sin destroys. And sin opened the door for the destroyer. But even when we choose darkness, God doesn’t abandon us to it. He redeems it—if we give it to Him.

He doesn’t “allow” evil in a passive, permissive way—as if He’s okay with it. He permits freedom… and redeems what we surrender.

Imagine a child playing with fire, warned by the parent not to. But the child disobeys, the house catches fire, and tragedy follows.

The fireman didn’t cause the fire. The parent didn’t cause the fire. The child’s freedom did. But the fireman breaks down the door, rushes in, and carries the child out. That’s Jesus.

Religion tells us God lit the fire. Jesus shows us God broke down the door.

When we read “God gave and God took away” (Job 1:21), we forget:

• Job was not speaking theologically, he was grieving.

• God Himself corrected Job’s misunderstanding, and Job himself repented of it (Job 38–42).

• Satan was the one who attacked Job—not God.

Job’s story shows us that not everything spoken in Scripture is spoken rightly about God.

Jesus is the final Word—not Job’s grief.

Further reading: Job Was Wrong—So Why Do We Still Believe It?

• It blurs the line between God and Satan.

• It keeps believers confused about God’s character.

• It creates quiet resentment in the soul—how can I trust the One who hurt me?

That kind of confusion creates double-minded faith: You pray to the same One you fear might be behind the suffering. You run to the same One you secretly believe harmed your loved one.

And that kind of faith… is fragile, not free.

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” – Revelation 1:18

This verse is often misunderstood—and even misused—to suggest that God is now “in control” of death, and therefore must be using it.

But Jesus didn’t say He causes death. He said He holds the keys.

There’s a massive difference between causing death and conquering it. The one who holds the keys isn’t the one who kills—He’s the one who sets prisoners free.

Jesus holds the keys of death and Hades because He broke into the prison and took them back from the enemy.

“...that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death—that is, the devil.” – Hebrews 2:14

He didn’t reclaim the keys to use death—He reclaimed them to undo it.

Just like a firefighter holds the keys to a burning building—not to start fires, but to rescue the ones inside—Jesus holds the keys of death to rescue us from its grip.

Jesus doesn’t unlock death for God’s will. He unlocks life for God’s children.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” – Revelation 21:4

This is where history is headed. This is the final vision God gives us—not one of resignation, but restoration.

No more tears.
No more pain.
No more death.

And if death will be abolished forever, then how can it be His will now? If God’s perfect will is a world without death, then death cannot be His will today. Otherwise, God would be changing—and Scripture says He does not change (Hebrews 13:8, Malachi 3:6).

Death is not part of God’s eternal nature or plan.

If we say death is “God’s will now” but “not His will later,” we accuse Him of evolving. We make Him double-minded—approving of something temporarily that He will later abolish.

But God doesn’t shift with the seasons. He doesn’t change His mind about what is good and what is evil. Death isn’t something God will suddenly stop liking in the end. It’s something He never liked to begin with.

God’s heart has always been life. From Eden to the Cross to the Resurrection to the New Heaven and New Earth—God’s desire has been the same: Life. Wholeness. Communion. Peace.

“The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10

If death is not in the beginning… and death is not in the end… then it was never God’s heart in the middle.

1. “But God is sovereign—doesn’t that mean He controls everything, including death?”

Sovereignty doesn’t mean control—it means supreme authority. And God, in His supreme authority, chose to give humanity free will. Love without choice is control—not love.

If God controlled every detail, there would be no need for Jesus to come. But God’s sovereignty is most fully expressed in His ability to redeem, not manipulate.

God gave dominion to humanity (Genesis 1:28), and when we sinned, we opened the door to death. Jesus came to restore that authority—not override it.

Further reading: Why "God is Sovereign" is Pushing People Away from Faith

2. “But doesn’t Scripture say God uses everything for good—including death?”

Romans 8:28 says God works all things together for good—not that He causes all things. There’s a difference between redeeming and authoring.

God can redeem the worst tragedy and bring beauty from ashes—but that doesn’t mean He lit the fire. God is a master Redeemer—not a silent accomplice.

3. “But doesn’t Hebrews 9:27 say it’s appointed for man to die?”

Yes—and it’s true. But appointment doesn’t equal design. Everyone will eventually face physical death—not because it’s God’s desire, but because we still live in a fallen world.

The key is this: God doesn't send death to take us—He redeems us from its sting.

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:26

If death is still an enemy, then it’s not God's escort service into Heaven. It’s the final consequence of a broken world—and Jesus will crush it once and for all.

4. “But I’ve seen God bring good things out of someone’s death—doesn’t that mean He caused it?”

No. It means He’s good at bringing life out of death—not that He authored it. Just because God brings purpose from pain doesn’t mean He planned the pain. If you rescued a child from drowning, would anyone say you pushed them in first? Of course not.

Jesus jumps into the pit—but He never dug it.

5. “If death isn’t from God, why doesn’t He stop it?”

That’s the ache of every heart—and it’s why Jesus came. God did stop it. At the cross.

He made a way through death and into eternal life. And one day, Jesus will return and swallow up death forever (Isaiah 25:8).

Until then, we live in the tension between what’s been won in the Spirit and what’s still being walked out on earth.

But don’t mistake God’s patience for permission. He is not indifferent. He is not late. He is waiting—for all things to be brought under Christ (Ephesians 1:10). And we are part of seeing that fulfilled.

When you finally see that death is not God’s will, something shifts deep in your soul.

You stop trying to love a Father you secretly fear. You stop calling evil “good” just to protect your theology. You stop blaming God for what the enemy has done. And you start to breathe again.

1. You begin to trust God fully

If you believe God is behind your pain, you’ll never fully trust Him with your heart.

But when you see Jesus clearly—grieving death, healing sickness, raising the dead—you realize He’s not against you.

He’s with you, always for life. You can’t rest in the arms of a Father you suspect might have wounded you.

2. You stop partnering with religious cliches

Every time we say “God took them,” or “He allowed this for a reason,” we unintentionally strengthen the wrong kingdom.

But truth sets us free.

When we stop defending death as part of God’s plan, we start walking in the power of His goodness. Agreement matters. When you agree with Jesus, you resist the thief.

3. You grieve with hope—not confusion

Loss still hurts. Grief is real. But when you know God is only good, you can process pain without bitterness, anger, or silent suspicion toward Him.

You don’t have to pretend. You don’t have to tie a spiritual bow around tragedy. You can be honest with your grief—and safe in His love. We don’t need fake comfort. We need true clarity.

4. You walk in authority, not resignation

If you think God sends death, you’ll accept it as final. But when you know it’s an enemy—you’ll fight back like Jesus did.

You’ll lay hands on the sick. You’ll pray bold prayers. You’ll resist the destroyer. You’ll release life.

Because you know who’s behind the grave—and who holds the keys. You won’t cast out what you think God sent.

This truth doesn’t just give comfort. It gives clarity, authority, and freedom. It anchors your faith in the real Jesus, so you can finally stop walking on eggshells around God.

This is one of the most common questions—and it’s a valid one. Because yes, there are passages in the Old Testament that say God struck people down, sent plagues, or wiped out nations.

So how do we reconcile that with Jesus—the One who healed, forgave, raised the dead, and never killed anyone?

Here’s how: Jesus is the lens that clears the fog. “He is the exact image of God” (Hebrews 1:3)—not a partial reflection.

If something in Scripture seems to contradict the life and words of Jesus, that’s the signal to slow down and dig deeper. Not to toss the Scripture out—but to interpret it rightly, in light of Christ.

Many of these stories were written from a limited, pre-Christ understanding of God’s nature—before the full revelation of the Father came through Jesus.

“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son… has made Him known.” – John 1:18

Jesus is what God has always been like—we just didn’t always know it.

So when we come across passages that say “God killed them” or “The Lord struck them down,” we don’t ignore them… we interpret them through the person of Jesus—the One who said, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:9).

That’s exactly what these Christ-centered perspective blogs are here to help us do:

• Not avoid the tension, but walk through it with Jesus as our guide

• Not settle for inherited interpretations, but let Jesus reshape our lens

• Not fear Scripture, but rightly divide it with the Spirit of Truth

You don’t need to abandon Scripture to see God rightly. You just need to start with Jesus—because He is the final Word.

If we don’t reconcile these things through Jesus, we live with a fractured view of God.

We start to believe in a God with two faces:

• One who heals… and one who harms

• One who gives life… and one who takes it

• One who forgives… and one who strikes down

That kind of dualistic view might seem “biblical,” but it quietly distorts the gospel. It splits the Godhead. It fractures your faith. It makes it impossible to rest in the Father’s love—because some part of you still suspects He might hurt you.

Death is not God’s plan, tool, or will. It is the result of sin, the weapon of the enemy, and the very thing Jesus came to conquer.

He didn’t collaborate with it—He crushed it.

Death wasn't in Eden (God's original intent). Death wasn't in Jesus (God's exact nature). And death isn't in heaven (God's will). So let's stop trying to say it's His intent, nature, or will today.

Let’s stop attributing to God what Jesus died to destroy. Let’s stop comforting with lies that confuse His goodness.

“God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” – 1 John 1:5

And just to be clear—this isn’t about compromising Scripture or picking verses we prefer. It’s about finally interpreting all Scripture through the lens of Jesus—the exact image of God (Hebrews 1:3). We’re not softening the gospel. We’re restoring its clarity.

This is how we rightly divide the Word—with Christ at the center, who is the whole counsel of scripture in the flesh.

1. Have I ever blamed God for something Jesus came to destroy?

2. How has confusion around death affected my view of God’s goodness?

3. What would it look like to fully trust that Jesus—not death—has the final say?

PS: take the FREE 2min Lens Test that helps reveal what lens you might currently see God through—Truth, tradition, or fear?

Bless you,

Lee