Loving God's Children

Scripture: (Luke 18:15–17 NRSV) ¹⁵ People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. ¹⁶ But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁷ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”

Meditation:

            Most of us have heard that bringing a canary into a coal mine can help keep you alive. You see the canary is far more sensitive to the poison gasses that sometimes exist in the mines than we humans are so they get sick and die earlier than we will. Giving us ample warning to get out and save our own lives.

            This past Sunday Pastor Cindy Marino of Rochelle UMC used the illustration that I think is likewise very much worth heeding. She said that “Our children are our canaries in the community.” And she recited some terrible acts of violence against children in our area as a case in point. Is our community really as safe as we think it is? Maybe not.

            When you think about our world you will note that 10’s of thousands of children are trafficked for sex or exploited as low/no wage workers in dangerous factories. Many thousands die each day from starvation or other preventable conditions. If these children are the canaries in our world, then our world is on the verge of a terrible sickness.

            In our own nation not only do we have the same problem with human trafficking, but violence against our children is raging on the streets of our large cities and not so large towns and villages. Drugs and gun violence run rampant on the streets of cities like Chicago. And the scourge of drugs has made it even to sleepy hamlets like Rochelle and Oregon Illinois. What does the way our children are treated tell us about ourselves? Do we still have time to get out of the mine of violence and drugs before we perish too?

            If I can push the analogy just a bit further. What about the babies that die at the hands of abortion doctors every day around the world? Some babies forcibly killed because of government policies. Are these children canaries in our midst as well, you will be the judge?

            All of these illnesses clearly run counter to the way Jesus treated the children in this scripture. He blessed them and held them and loved them. Does the way we treat children in our community imitate Jesus? Or the world? Let us pray for the children.

Prayer:

            Dear Holy God, forgive us for the way we sometimes treat our children. Help us to be active in efforts to end human trafficking of children (and adults) throughout the world. Help us to see in each child the potential that Jesus saw. Compel us to act according to what we see that we may make this world safe for children of all sizes, races, classes, and genders. Increase our love for all God’s children we pray. Amen