Josh Duggar and where is everyone going?

If Josh Duggar (famous Reality TV character of 19 Kids and Counting) would have died last year, prior to all the scandal that's been exposed about him, there would have been plenty of "Christians" reassuring Anna Duggar (plus 19 more) that they now have an "angel" to watch over them from Heaven. And I am quite certain that every year thereafter, we could expect unlimited posts to social media like..."one year ago today, Heaven received another angel", or, "Happy Birthday to Josh, an angel in Heaven!"

But if he died today (God forbid), I am just as certain that we would see something VERY different. In fact, some people might even go as far to say, "there's a special chamber waiting for him in the deeepest part of hell with only his name on it". Some have already gone as far and he's not dead.

Prior to "the story" of Josh Duggar, breaking in early summer, about him molesting his sisters at age 15 and then with the most recent Ashley Madison scandal, most people might view Josh Duggar as an impeccable husband, father and son. An "advocate" in Washington D.C. for Christian people everywhere, he was defending Godly marriage between one man / one woman. It was publicized that he never kissed or touched his bride, Anna (publically) prior to completing their marriage vows. Anna Duggar's Instagram account is loaded with posts of Josh being a doting, loving, devoted husband and father. TLC Network portrayed him as the perfect Godly son, always by his parents side to help, celebrate and work with his family. No one, none of us, knew on January 1, 2015 about the deep dark secrets he was hiding under a false identity. Josh Duggar could be any one of us.

How can any one of us KNOW the intimate way in which God knows us? When we say, God sees "everything", do we ourselves believe IT?

We use the term, "don't judge, only God can judge", but then offer comforting words like "there is no more pain for your loved one", or "your loved one is no longer suffering" or even still more presumptuous yet, "you have your very own angel watching over you from Heaven"....is this not judgment? To decide where someone will spend eternity, is the ULTIMATE judgment. We as human beings have no way of intimately knowing the "state" of any given person's heart, mind, spirit, soul or life at the moment of death. Consoling a person by such means does not change the departed's final destination.

If it's not okay to pass judgment on the living, then why do we pass "judgment" on the dead?

What if the untimely death of a person was for the purpose of another soul forming a deeper union with Christ for their own salvation? Or what if your "judgment" words offered them enough comfort that they had no need to turn to God in prayerf? Imagine intercepting God, His plans, His Will, or even someone's relationship with Jesus Christ when we offer such condolences.

On another note, how much damage could we do by praying for the dearly departed...even if the soul was already received into heaven? Would God not look upon this with kindness? It has a tone of humbleness, doesn't it? What a way to truly pay tribute to our dearly departed, then to pray for them.

Let's be about the business of praying, as we were instructed to do, and leave all the "judgment" to the One who is worthy of being placed upon the throne of life and Who is more than capable of consoling the broken hearted. And let us allow the Almighty God to finish the work He has started in each one of us, and lead us all into eternal life according to HIS will!