Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren.’ Luke 23:28-29b

Last week, the Seattle Times carried a heartrending story. In four short paragraphs, it told of how Guatemalan authorities had rescued forty-six children from an adoption home. That there were forty-six children up for adoption is a good thing. The fact that these children had been stolen or had been coerced from their parents is terribly tragic.

Some of the children were newborn, and all the others were under the age of three.

As I read that story, I thought of the pain of parents who had been pressured to give up their children. I tried to imagine the agony of those mothers and fathers whose babies had been stolen from them. Those thoughts were hard, but they became almost unbearable when I thought of the cries of the children who had been taken from all the people who had given them life and love. In my mind, I can hear those children calling out for “mother” and “father.”

I rejoice that our government has tried to take a stand against such shameful situations and shocking circumstances. Since March, the U.S. State Department no longer recommends the adoption of children from Guatemala because of the pressure placed on women to sell their babies, and the extortionists who are targeting the adopting parents.

The words of the soon-to-be-crucified Christ to the women of Jerusalem seem most appropriate to this situation. You do remember what He said, don’t you? His words are the subject of this devotion. He said: “do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren.” Jesus’ words came true long ago when the city of Jerusalem fell to the Romans, but they may also be true today as we weep for mothers and children in Guatemala.

But I would like to do more than weep. I would like the thousands upon thousands of you who are reading this devotion to come together in prayer for all who are involved.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, today I ask that You will pick up these children in Your arms and bless them. Please return or place these little ones into homes where they will be surrounded by Your love and protected by Christian parents who will love them. We also pray for the many husbands and wives whose hearts long for the gift of children. May they have those prayers answered in Your time and according to Your will. Grant that their homes become complete and filled with laughter and joy. Lastly, I ask that You will defeat the plans and bring to justice all those who imagine and implement these perverted plans designed to separate parents from children. Knowing You will hear, I ask all of these things in Your Name, Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 7-9    2 Corinthians 2

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