Article March 20, 1995 Issue

The innocent heart in each of us

Abigail Mathieson Trout

Today large numbers of young people—children and teenagers—end up in prison, or equivalent restricted conditions, convicted of a variety of crimes. Before these young ones find themselves literally in prison, it would appear they were first prisoners of their environment. Their criminal behavior is frequently traced to broken homes, neglectful or abusive family members, economic and racial conditions.

Instead of being symbols of hope and freshness, such children seem to be prisoners of sin, sensuality, fear, and hate. How do we and they gain freedom from these aggressive claims against individual progress and development?

The unchangeable primary fact needs to be realized: God made man and his environment; therefore they are totally good. God did not make His children subjects or objects of evil. The Apostle Paul says the children of God are the "heirs of God" (Rom. 8:17). The child of God is not deprived of his inheritance; the kingdom of heaven is his eternal home. In this spiritual environment immoral influences, evil thoughts, and neglect are impossibilities. The perfection and purity of God's idea, man, shine forth. In this health-giving, light-filled universe of Love, all identities thrive as representatives of divinity.

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Leaning on God
March 20, 1995
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