Whoso Shall Offend One of These Little Ones

Every little one who enters into this realm of life, ought to be treasured, and loved. There can be no excuse for the abuse of little ones, none whatsoever. That father, or that mother, who abuse and brutalize the little ones over whom they have been given stewardship, will one day answer before God. The Psalmist wrote, “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Ps. 127:3), and the Savior spoke tenderly, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Mark 10:14). But then He warned: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6). Be assured, my dear friends, that many are the tears in Heaven over the maltreatment of little ones, even as some of you will weep upon reading of the abuse of a little one.There may be a reader who suffered abuse as a child. More often than not, that reader lives with a feeling of guilt, as if he or she were responsible for the abuse inflicted upon them. This is not so! Oh, beloved child now grown up, put aside any such guilt! That the cycle be broken, that of the parent abusing the child who will grow up to abuse his own, it is needful that you forgive your abuser, and resolve not to perpetuate such evil. The destroyer of souls would have you believe that the evil cycle cannot be broken. It can, and indeed has been broken, by good men and women, who have come to the realization that hurtful behavior yields to repentance, and that one can, through the love and redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ, be clean, like a child once again. God bless you with the strength to do so, and may His tender mercies be visited upon you. We take comfort in the knowledge that God taketh unto His bosom these little ones, whose lives are snuffed out so cruelly. May He grant that innocent little ones may always feel safe around you and around me.