Suffer the Children, Part 2

In my last blog, I stated that there are forces working against God’s plan to bless the world with children, and gave current examples of what they are doing. I then asked: What are those forces? Where do they come from, and what do we do about them?

The forces opposing children are the three named in our confessions: the world, the flesh, and the devil.*  These three are also named in the Scriptures, specifically in Ephesians 2:1-3, which reads, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

We could say a lot about the influence of the world and its culture that promotes abortion as a “reproductive right,” or of the flesh, which puts personal material comfort, career, and goals ahead of having children. But, what I want to write about is what inspired me to write this blog: the realization that behind all this hatred of children is the devil himself.

Why does the devil hate children?

1. Because they are people, created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27).
2. Because as God’s people they are the “apple of [God’s] eye.” (Psalm 17:8).
3. Because unlike the devil and his angels, the Son of God became one to redeem them from sin and death (2 Peter 2:4).
4. And, because the devil “was a murderer from the beginning,” (John 8:44). He hates them because, as Jesus said, “for to such belongs the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).

The devil’s influence has been seen throughout history. Whenever he has been worshiped, either directly or through the pagan worship of idols, children have been considered disposable.

1. We see the example of the Egyptian pharaoh who ordered the killing of all the Hebrew baby boys (Exodus 1:15-16).
2. God’s condemnation of Israel for killing their children according to pagan customs. He said, “They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind” (2 Kings 17:31).
3. God condemned Israel’s King Ahaz: “He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his children in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites” (2 Chronicles 28:3).
4. The Canaanites and others offered their children as burnt offerings to a god named Molech. God’s word calls such practices abominations and forbids doing so. Leviticus 18:13 commands, “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.” Likewise, Leviticus 20:2, “Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones.” God even prophesied that the Babylonians would conquer Judah because his people had sinned by worshiping idols. His complaint against them included the following: “They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.”
5. One more biblical example was when King Herod heard that a “King of the Jews” had been born in Bethlehem, he sent his soldiers to kill all the infant boys of the age of two or younger.  (Matthew 2:16). Known as The Massacre of the Innocents, these boys have been considered the first Christian martyrs.
6. In the First Century, Romans who didn’t want their newborns, would abandon them on the city dumps. But Christians would find them there, and raise them instead – of course teaching them the faith as they grew.

These are all examples from times past, but today the war against children goes on with new organizations and new slogans to justify the murder of babies. So what do we, who are concerned Christians, do to defend the lives of children, both born and as yet unborn?

1. Support those organizations and churches already in the fight for children. As in the days of Rome, it is Christians who are at the forefront of speaking out and defending the rights of children. Charities such as Alternatives Pregnancy Center** and Preborn*** offer counseling and other free services to pregnant mothers in crisis.
2. Refuse to participate in any activity or organization that promotes anti-child actions such as abuse, pornography, or abortion. Speak out against such practices in your public discourse, social media, public hearings, and by the way you vote.
3. When possible, adopt a child or foster one as an alternative to abortion. Provide a loving home where the child will be raised as a Christian.
4. Support new laws, and the enforcement of laws already on the books, which protect children from neglect, abuse and trafficking.
5. Follow biblical guidelines for how you raise your children. Be sure they are baptized and raised in the faith. Model church-going by taking them to church and Sunday school. Be Christian in your speech and practice.
   • “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
   • “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
   • Teach the Scriptures to your children: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7).
   • Do not withhold discipline, but use it to correct, not punish. “For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Hebrews 12:7).
6. Pray. Pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Pray for the children who are suffering abuse and neglect of any kind. Pray for the mothers considering abortion, that they find new love for their unborn children and will save them. Pray for parents, foster parents, and adoptive parents for the challenges they will face. Pray for the church and organizations that work to protect children, both born and not yet born. Pray against the forces which promote child sacrifice, while also praying that the people involve to come to repentance and faith. As the Apostle Peter said, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8); let us pray that he has no one to devour!
7. Finally, remember: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Our enemy is the devil, not the people caught up in his deceptions. After all, those people were once children, too, created in God’s image. And by the grace of God, Christ died for them too, that they might be saved. Pray for their salvation. And take heart, for we know the devil’s fate: to be thrown into the lake of fire to be “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

May our ultimate hope be in Christ Jesus, our Savior. For in him, all who believe are children of God. John 1:12 (my confirmation verse!) tells us: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Matthew 19:13-14; John 8:44; Revelation 20:7-10.

*Martin Luther, Large Catechism, “The Lord’s Prayer.”

**Alternative Pregnancy Center: 8689 Folsom Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95826. https://alternativespc.org (not a link; type into your browser)

***Preborn offers ultrasound pictures to a mother of her child, reducing the number of abortions: https://preborn.com (not a link; type into your browser)