The Least of These

For those of you who know Cathy and I well, you know we are passionate about making a difference in the lives of children. In our family, this plays out in our desire to save the world "one child at a time". Just like the boy throwing starfish back into ocean, we cannot make a difference for every child, but will do our best to make a difference in the lives of the children who come into our home.

Of course, as an educator, I have 550 children that I am responsible for from K thru 8th grade. Although "one at a time" would be inadequate to meet the needs of all these students, each child's individual needs must be met if all of them are to succeed.

I was very proud of my wife when she recently struggled with an assignment that included a response to A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. In this satirical commentary on western life in the 18th century, Swift, proposes children be eaten as a solution to both poverty of the mother and overpopulation. Today I am struggling with the fact that Swift's commentary on society's value of children is as applicable today as it was then.

Yes, crimes against children are against the law here in the US and in many parts of the world, the problem is, they still happen and they happen way too frequently. Today I found out that it is highly probable that four of the boys from the streets of Uganda that folks from our church recently worked with on a missions trip were kidnapped and taken to Europe to be part of the sex trade. Not only does this make me sick for these for boys, it makes my heart break that this is such a regular occurrance that without knowing what happened to them, we can assume what happened to them. These children have no value in society, in Uganda and in Europe, and can be harvested like stray animals.

I know that if you are reading this post, you are probably one of my Facebook friends, and share my value of children. You may be asking, "What can I do?" The advice given to me tonight by our pastor that went on this trip and knows these boys...pray that wherever they are, they will find redemption, both for their lives, and for their souls.

Its hard for me to leave something like this in God's hands. It really makes me want to go out and do some ass-whoopin.

So, that's my reflection, no resolution, just frustration and a knot in the pit of my stomach.

However...it does make me stop and ponder the value and sanctity of human life. Even though all of you are willing to sacrifice for children and are appalled at what I've shared, do you really value all human life? Really? Yes, I am asking a trick question here. Many of you would never take the life of anyone else, and those of you that would, only under certain cirumstances, ie: the health and safety of others. My question is, do you value YOUR life? If you are like me, somedays you may get down, feel like you have failed, even wallow in self-pity. Do you know that someone cares about your troubles just like we are concerned about the troubles of children? Human life gets its value not from what society thinks its worth. The doctor and the street urchin are just as valuable in God's eyes. He loves those boys from Uganda, He loves those 550 students in my school, He loves my family, He loves me, He LOVES YOU!

Today's news about these boys, coupled with some sad news regarding the health of one of my students has taken me through a roller-coaster of emotions. Knowing God loves them and loves me is the only thing that will allow me to sleep tonight.