"Dad, I’m scared”… Zach, our seven-year-old son had been wrestling inside with ‘things that go bump in the night’ for a couple of months. But this was different. It was broad daylight and we were walking out of a restaurant – our favorite. “What’s wrong? What are you afraid of, bud?” I replied. He then proceeded to grab my sleeve and take me back to the restaurant window – pointed to a picture and said, “That’s why Dad!” The poster screamed “Missing” and featured the gentle face of a little girl named Jennifer Short. At that moment my heart sank. Jennifer had been abducted and her parents were left brutally murdered in their quaint home here in central Virginia.
As Zach pushed into me for safety and consolation, he whispered as if someone was listening, “Dad, there are robbers out there who hate and kill kids. I’m scared!” As I gazed into his eyes he collapsed in my arms, and I realized that his innocence had been marred with an indelible stain! Later that night as I prayed with Zach and our daughter Megan, I yearned for God to give me deep wisdom on how to help them and children everywhere in their life’s journey. Today’s generations face a different, more dangerous world than we did. And they have no advocates save us – parents, pastors, teachers, coaches, and counselors who should always be there for them. But we are not doing well at all. In the United States, one of the most dangerous places is a mother’s womb. We have aborted 42 million children in 30 years of legal abortion. Contrary to the abortionist drivel about ‘every child a wanted one’ and expected reductions in child abuse, our child abuse rates operate at all time highs—with 2.7 million cases of abuse or neglect yearly. One fourth of all child deaths are gun related—15 kids are shot and killed in America every day.
Our Surgeon General has shown us that kids, by far, are the most under-served population in mental health today. About 8 million of our 63 million kids are in need of some kind of mental health treatment. But only about 2.5 million actually receive care. One in four girls and one in seven boys will be an abuse victim by age 18. 40% of America’s children wake up every day without a father, and 28 million kids live with an alcoholic or drug-abusing parent. Tragically, America is a safe haven compared to much of the rest of the world! AIDS linked with starvation is decimating southern Africa, with millions of orphans and collapsed economies that will hurt children most. Over 300,000 children are forced into becoming soldiers of war in over a dozen conflicts world-wide. War refugees now number in the millions, with children always the last to be served. The systematic abuse and torture of children is widespread in schools, orphanages, jails, police detentions, and labor camps in many countries, including India, Pakistan, Jamaica, Kenya, and Russia.
The Bible is not slack on our responsibility to care for our children (Deut. 6:6-9; Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:1-4). Jesus’ greatest miracles—bringing the dead to life again—were visited upon children (Luke 7:11-17; 8:49-56). He stopped the rebuke of his disciples against those who brought their children to Christ, commanding all to “let the little children come to me…” and revealing that adopting the heart attitude of a little child was essential to entry into His Kingdom (Luke 18:15-17). God waits with arms stretched to-us-ward, offering deep consolation and the love of ‘Abba, Father’. May it be said of us that we helped turn the hearts of the fathers toward the children— toward all children everywhere on earth. I agree with Fran Stott that ‘Every child deserves at least one person who is crazy about him or her.’ By the way, when was the last time you squeezed a little hand, kissed a forehead, or took in a belly laugh with a child? Go express some love to a needy child today!
Tim Clinton, Ed.D., LPC, LMFT, is President of AACC, Executive Director of the Center for Counseling and Family Studies/Professor of Counseling and Pastoral Care at Liberty University, and co-founder of Light Counseling, Inc., a clinical practice serving children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Clinton is author of The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted, Before a Bad Good-bye, and executive editor of The Soul Care Bible.