The Little Ones
http://www.missingkids.com/Home
Did you know that there is a missing child clearing house?
A missing child clearinghouse is an organization that provides information on missing children. Each state in the U.S. has one. You can find out more about them here.
What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost. - Matthew 18:12-14
In today's Gospel reading, Matthew shows us what matters most to Jesus, and to our Father in heaven, the lost little ones. While that could be anyone who is lost and led astray, he is particularly focused on the children.
When I hear about a missing child, I think of someone who has been kidnapped, most likely by a parent who didn't have custody. I guess that gives me some sense of reason, and it also allows me to shrug it off as a family matter.
But parental abductions account for 25% of these missing child cases, with less than 8% abducted by non-family members. The stereotypical kidnapping we see played out on crime shows accounts for less than 1% of all cases.
Many more cases of lost children are runaways and those led astray by others who will take advantage of them, exploiting them in some way.
We hear about abductions by terrorist groups and we are rattled, angry, eager to see something done, but every day, children are lost right in our own neighborhoods and we don't even have a clue.
Amber Alerts pop up from time to time on the road, and we look for those vehicles, believing they will be found, but as successful as the program is, it has only managed to save 711 children since its inception in 1996.
When it comes to the culprits, the ones who lead kids astray, we need to watch out for internet predators. Here are some facts from MissingKids.com.
93 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 go online.
Of children five years old and younger who use the Internet, 80 percent use it at least once a week.
One in 25 children ages 10 to 17 received an online sexual solicitation where the solicitor tried to make offline contact.
Four percent of cell phone owning teens ages 12 to 17 say they have sent sexually suggestive nude/semi-nude messages to others via text message.
15 percent of cell phone owning teens ages 12 to 17 say they have received sexually suggestive nude/semi-nude images of someone they know via text.
For more Internet Safety facts visit www.netsmartz.org/Safety/Statistics.
The normal reaction is, "Yes, but not my kid."
Remember what Jesus said about the children:
'Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven."
Let's work to make 2015 safer for kids.
More to come...