Children are a heritage from the Lord.

I must be blunt when I say this: childhood sexual abuse is an extraordinarily prevalent evil in our world. In the United States alone, statistics indicate that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys are victims of childhood sexual abuse.

If these statistics are accurate, this means that anytime you’re having coffee with a few of your girlfriends, there’s a high probability that one of the women sitting at that table was sexually abused as a child.

However, many experts believe—as do I—that the number of victims is probably much higher, due to lack of disclosure. That’s particularly true in the case of incest, which is way more common than most people want to admit.

These are hard, painful, and even taboo topics to discuss. But I know from my own experience that part of the reason these evils persist is that they’re kept in the darkness, where they fester and continue their destructive path through lives and families, sometimes for multiple generations. This one issue has a ripple effect through our entire society, leading to immense harm.

The Bible consistently and emphatically reinforces the value of children, from the time of conception onward. Yet, as Christians, we’ve often abdicated our responsibility to advocate for and protect children, including our own.

I could say a lot more about this topic—and I will at some point in the future—but today, I want to share a devotional I wrote in my book One Nation Under God, “Protecting the Least of These.” May the lessons we learn from Scripture inform us and embolden us to boldly speak on behalf of children.

Yours in Christ,

Amanda

xoxo

“Then He said to the disciples, ‘It is impossible that no offenses should come,

but woe to him through whom they do come!

It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck,

and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.’”

—Luke 17:1–2

There’s a saying that you can tell a lot about a society based on the way it treats its youngest and oldest members.

If that’s true, then the United States has a massive problem, because some of the greatest evils of our time are perpetrated against children: abortion, infanticide, molestation, child abuse, child pornography, child trafficking, a push for the acceptance of pedophilia, the administration of hormone blockers and gender transitioning procedures… Even typing that list makes my stomach churn as I think of the millions of children being hurt, body and soul, each and every day in our country.

As someone who has personally suffered some of these evils, and as the mother of two children, these aren’t the kinds of issues I’m willing to stay silent on.

In today’s passage from Luke, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that severe judgment befalls those who lead children astray or harm them in any way. His words convey the sanctity and purity of childhood and the accountability we have to protect the youngest and most vulnerable in our nation.

Protecting Children from Conception Onward

That protection should begin at the moment of conception. The psalmist wrote, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them” (Psalm 139:13–16).

These verses portray a beautiful and profound truth: Even before conception, the Lord knows us and has our entire life story written in His Book. And from conception onward, He knits us together in our mother’s womb, showing the care and intentionality with which the Lord creates every child. This knowledge should compel us to protect something so unique and valuable.

The Faith of the Unborn

The amazing capacity of unborn children is shown in the Gospel of Luke, when Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus, visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. Mary arrived and greeted her cousin, and “the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (Luke 1:41). Elizabeth then exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (Luke 1:42–45; cf. Luke 1:15).

Even as a fetus, John the Baptist was able to experience joy, as the one who would “make straight the way of the Lord” celebrated the arrival of the One he’d later declare “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:23, 29).

Unborn children were also deemed fully human in the Mosaic law: “If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” (Exodus 21:22–24). If men, who’d been tasked with protecting life since God created Adam, allowed their anger and violence to hurt or kill an unborn child, their punishment was to be commensurate with the harm they caused—and if the child died, then their lives were forfeit. This law serves to remind us of the high value the Lord places on all life, including unborn children.

Punishment for Kidnapping

The law provided comparable punishment for kidnapping: “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death” (Exodus 21:16). Child trafficking falls under the category of kidnapping, since it takes a child from his or her parents, whether under false pretenses or brazenly snatching them away, for sexual abuse or forced labor. As with causing harm to an unborn child, the punishment for such an act was death.

Protecting Children’s Virtue

Although many offenses toward children are physical in nature, the mental and emotional harm of these acts can’t be denied. Mental and emotional harm can be brought about in other ways too. This notion is expressed in Song of Solomon 2:7: “I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the does of the field, do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.” Exposure to pornography and other sexualized content, which many children have access to through internet-connected devices, can set the stage for a lifetime of dysfunctional behavior and addiction. These days, even preschool-aged children are exposed to sexual education materials and ideas such as gender theory that are completely inappropriate—not only from a moral or religious perspective but also from a developmental perspective.

When my husband and I were considering where our children should be educated, I was on the fence about private school. But when I researched the school’s mission and vision, one word resonated deeply with me: virtue. The school has a commitment to preserving children’s innocence and shielding them from harmful influences, including those of a sexual nature. The school agrees that such teachings and conversations are rightly conducted between parents and their own children. And while these discussions can be hard, we owe it to our children to ensure they’re being taught about sexuality according to God’s design in the one-flesh union of husband and wife.

Children Are a Heritage

Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.” May the words of Proverbs 31:8–9 serve as our call to action to advocate for the safety and well-being of these little ones, for they are indeed a heritage from the Lord: “Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, when Your disciples rebuked those who brought little children to You, You said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). Then You “took them up in [Your] arms, laid [Your] hands on them, and blessed them” (Mark 10:16). May You shield every child in our country from harm and grant us the courage to advocate for them even from their conception. In Your name we pray. Amen.

For Further Reflection

What are the results of America’s general lack of protecting our nation’s children?
How can you advocate for the children in your community?

Excerpt taken from One Nation Under God: 40 Devotions for Patriotic Women by Amanda C. Bauch.

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