Three-year old British toddler Margaret Hill was recently snatched from a car on the way to nursery school in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The story made headlines in the British press and television as this is the first child abduction of a foreign national in this impoverished but oil-rich area of Nigeria. Although a ransom was demanded we are told nothing was paid. Margaret was released into the care of her parents a few days later.

Not so fortunate is little Madeleine McCann. Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann are still searching earnestly for her. They have launched one of the most extensive media and high-profile campaigns to find their four-year old daughter, abducted from a holiday apartment in Algarve, Portugal in early May. Politicians, sports personalities, and even the Pope have willingly added their influence to the appeal for a public awareness. Hoping against hope that she may be found alive, organisations and individuals have helped by spreading Madeleine's picture into virtually every corner of Europe.

While these terrifying ordeals usually become headline news in the western world, children are abducted around the world in disgustingly large numbers. The tearing of children from their home environment into a world of adult greed or perverseness is much more common than we may like to think.

Dragged into prostitution by unscrupulous people seeking greedy profits, or herded into army barracks to become unwilling soldiers, the innocence of children is stripped from them. They are denied the nurture and encouragement of the extended family and the positive influence of other helpful adults around them. Their foundation for adult life is built on the sand and slime of degenerates who have their own personal agenda for power, wealth or hedonism—not the desire to prepare the next generation for a happy and successful life.

ECPAT UK, [www.ecpat.org.uk] is an organisation dedicated to ending child prostitution, child pornography and the trafficking of children for sexual purposes. Its report dealing with the trafficking of children into the UK mentions, "A minimum of 2.45 million people are victims of trafficking annually and children represent 50 percent of the victims of this highly lucrative (US$ 32 billion each year) human rights abuse."

Jesus Christ's example shows us how important the care of small children is. His whole demeanor towards young people is illustrated in Mark 10:13-16. His disciples thought Jesus was too busy to be concerned with children. "Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them." The reaction from their Master must have surprised them. "But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God."

So the behaviour and attitude of small children, trusting and attentive, show how we are to react to God's guidance in life. "Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it. "

God gave us the responsibility of bringing children into the world only within a family environment. As parents and adults He expects us to care for them and to represent Him in kindness and training: "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it …'" (Genesis 1:27-28).

Later on, talking to the children of Israel, God expands on the importance of caring for and training children. In Deuteronomy 6:5-7 He shows that children need constant teaching by example and training. This is not possible when a child is abducted. Even the most basic of teaching is denied by the captors. Children become mere instruments of pleasure or profit.

God takes human trafficking and abduction very seriously. A warning to any who would be involved in these activities is strongly issued by the One who knows how dear children are. In ancient Israel the death penalty was to be administered to those who trafficked in people, young or old: "If a man is caught kidnapping one of his brother Israelites and treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you" (Deuteronomy 24:7).

To understand more about the importance of caring for our children and what God has planned for the human family, I recommend that you request or download our free publications Marriage & Family: the Missing Dimension and What Is Your Destiny?