This caption is all too familiar on Facebook. A glaring message with the picture of a smiling child conveys a tragic message. A family is in the midst of an unimaginable nightmare. Their child is missing! The notice itself is a sign that their search has been in vain and that hope is fading. Descriptions of the child, where and when they were last seen are of little use, since the child is gone and probably hidden from view.
A brief but impassioned message is included in some notices, but I am sure we could all write that one. Please help me find my child! It is heartbreaking to read between the lines. Can’t you see this is important? My precious child is in danger! Family friends and loved ones are trying to convince the world to stop what they are doing and help them.
Unfortunately the world has seen this story too many times and has become numb. Yes, it is possible the child will be returned safely to their loved ones, but statistics say it isn’t likely. Though it takes little effort to post the notice on the internet, it is a last ditch effort. The evil people, who take children, will soon get rid of the child to avoid detection. They don’t care about the child or the pain they cause the family.
I feel for the parents and would be desperately looking for help if I were in that situation. I usually check to see if the child was taken or believed to be in my area and when it happened. Some notices continue to circulate long after the child has been found alive or dead. Some noticed are about children taken in faraway places and are unlikely to be found in my area. Sharing those notices make it less likely that people will respond to future pleas for help.
GOD has been sending out those kinds of notices since the world began! The faces and descriptions are different but the heartbreaking message is the same “Please help me save my lost child!” He has gone to great lengths to get our attention. Again and again He asked “Can’t you see this is important, my precious child is danger?”
Unfortunately the world has heard this message before. They have become numb because many of the lost have rejected it. Statistically speaking the “lost” person won’t be returned and will take their guilt into eternity “for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in” (Mat 7:13 KJV). Their captor has spread doubt that they are even in danger. He doesn’t want to give up his prey, because “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). He doesn’t care about the pain he causes the person or their loved ones. He will even use the call for help to sew division and strife.
What is this controversial message? “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). What are we to do? “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15 KJV). The “gospel” is the “good news” that the captive can be set free from the law of sin and death and you and I have been sent to tell them!
Wayne Lance