Thank you for the question on time to repent, “Biblically speaking: Why do some children (both young and older) live past their parents even if they’ve been disrespectful for whatever and however long? Is it punishment once their parents passed that they lost a chance to repent?”
It is commonly expected that children will outlive their parents and their children will bury their parents. It is less common for a parent to bury their child at least one doesn’t expect that the parent will outlive their child.
Depending on the family circumstances, there are children who “hate” their parents or reject their parents or sibling by avoiding them. The reason varies and sadly reconciliation may never happen. The parent or the child may die before one comes to peace on the subject.
There are parents and children who are glad that their parents or sibling die for all the harm that s/he may have caused them. It’s good riddance. Having said that, there is some sense of regret that things weren’t made right at some point of time before that person died. One may have wished for an apology but never received it. The other person was too proud to admit their mistake, or we were too proud to forgive them. Either way, both persons lived in bondage to the pride or hatred. They were stuck in the past and never moved forward.
To bring about healing even though the person died without ever apologizing, one can resolve their personal bitterness and hatred by stating how much that person hurt him/her and then forgiving them. It’s not so much for the other person whether dead or alive, but for oneself. The bitterness and hatred only hurt oneself and poison the relationship with others.
SUMMARY: Regret for the lost time haunts both parties until it was too late. One can never make up “lost” time.
-Kingston