Scripture instructs us that for everything there is a time and a season. (Ecclesiastes 3:1) I find solace in this perspective. As is evident I have been away from my blogging for some time. Trips to the two places I identify as “home” have kept me from the keyboard for well over a month. I confess I missed sharing my musings. With the world growing ever crazier, contentious and more complex each passing day, there is abundant “food” for thought and reflection. Let me begin with an issue that continues to make my head spin: the plight of the hundreds of children, separated from their parents/families by our government, who languish still in detention centers through the country. The atrocity of such a policy inflicted upon children ranging in age from infants to teens will stain the character of this nation for years to come. In a country that identifies itself as “Christian,” a most unchristian act has been and continues to be committed. We need but look to Jesus, the founder of our faith, to get an idea of what He must think of these actions. Recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are the Savior’s responses to the wellbeing of children. “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea… See that you do not look down on one these little one… Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these… And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.” Jesus’ words and actions regarding children are clearly antithetical to the policies enacted in response to immigration issues. Taking children away from their parents is not a welcoming gesture. The emotional and psychological damage these children will in all likelihood experience may, if not treated properly, lead them to negative life choices. What else but “looking down upon these children” is the decision to place them in group homes and private run detention facilities? I remain hopeful that this tragedy will not become a new norm. I pray daily that God will forgive us individually and collectively for this national sin against children and against Him. I would rather we disavow our claim to be a “Christian nation” than continue to walk on this path that does not lead to eternity.
Beverly KND Clopton writes nonfiction primarily from a Christian perspective. The author of six published devotional books, she also writes commentary regarding current societal issues that impact those who strive to live "in" the world without being "of" the world.