Every child born into this world anywhere is God’s special creature for the introduction of fresh energy and intellectual wisdom into the process of living that dominate us all. By nature every child is equipped by God with an innate zeal for living, for investigating everything that he or she sees or encounters, for trusting everything that he or she hears from anyone, for experiencing and doing everything that there is to do, and for learning all that he or she needs to learn in order to assume his or her personal role in this world in which he or she has been placed.

Every child learns early in his or her experience that he or she is very dependent on others for his or her survival and training in the processes of living that now confront him or her. He or she learns that some experiences feel good and are comforting and others hurt and create stress and fears, that some things are good to investigate and even consume but that others are to be avoided and discarded and considered to be dangerous or unhealthy, that some words are true and others are lies, that not every new experience is easy to accomplish or that every practical lesson or skill is easy to learn, and that some “older” individuals in his or her social “nest” will be helpful to him or her because they really care for him or her but that others may be harmful or dangerous because they do not care for him or her but only for themselves and what they can get from this young creature in their social world.

These experiences of the growing and learning child not only affect his or mind and his or her perceptive understandings regarding what is good, but they also affect his or her physical growth and development and behavior and the attitudes of his or her spirit and his or her dreams or visions for the life that lies before him or her.

So every child is confronted with the basic task of deciding whom he or she can trust to treat him or her with love and wise instruction and whom he or she should avoid as being a person that he or she should not trust or learn from because what they offer is harmful and ultimately dangerous. But in too many situations, a child is not wise enough or strong enough in his or her early years of development to avoid being damaged or having his her natural powers for living with and loving others severely corrupted by “evil” models and “teachers” or other persuasive individuals.

Abusing a child physically with mistreatment or sexual activity or neglect or mentally with lies or spiritually with unworkable strategies for his or her achievements in life are very serious offenses against God. And every adult who produces a new child is going to have to give an account to God for how he and she treated that child.

But some of us adults in this world have opportunities to rescue children from abusive situations and to help them to overcome the damaging effects of abuse and lies and discouraging unworkable schemes to move forward in their lives. And this is a very special ministry to which God has called and equipped some redeemed parents, foster parents, adoptive parents, social workers, coaches, teachers, neighbors, pastors, friends, counselors, day care workers, police officers, and other specialists in our society to take an “abused” child under his or her “wing” of care and make a positive difference in his or life.

Let’s talk about this matter and what needs to be done to end and to correct all of the child abuse that is taking place in our society.