There seem to be increased threats to the safety of children all over the world. They are all too often the targets of violence and hatred motivated by the basest instincts of mankind.

Yet such cruelty is actually nothing new in the history of the human race. And we may be tempted to think there is little that one individual can do when faced with violent attacks on society's children. The Bible shows that, under God's direction, spiritually based wisdom can be exercised in a way that provides safety to the children and allows them to grow up to fulfill their potential.

A Bible story on this very theme appears in II Kings, chapter 11. Ahaziah, the sixth king of Judah, was killed suddenly during a violent uprising that broke out in the neighboring kingdom of Israel. The queen mother, Athaliah, decided that she would rule over Judah in Ahaziah's stead. She ordered all the young princes to be destroyed, but Ahaziah's half-sister, who was the wife of the high priest, took one of them, the baby Joash, and had him with his nurse right under the queen mother's nose in the temple, "the house of the Lord," for six years. (The queen mother was a worshiper of Baal.)

When the young prince was seven years old, Jehoiada, the high priest, called together the captains and the guards of the land and formed them into a bodyguard for Joash. He instructed them that every time Joash went out or came in, they were to be with him to protect him.

Then the high priest brought out the young prince, the guards stood around him with their weapons in their hands, and he was anointed king. As he stood by the pillar in the temple, all the people rejoiced and shouted, "God save the king," and the trumpets were sounded. When Athaliah heard the rejoicing she ran into the temple. When she saw the young king, she shouted, "Treason, Treason," but the captains soon took her out and she was killed. The narrative also tells us that the people destroyed the house of Baal, with its altar and images, and the city was quiet.

This story illustrates how the courageous action of one individual led to the blessing of a whole people.

In Biblical times the Lord's house was not only a place of worship but also a sanctuary, a place of refuge and protection from enemies. The ninety-first Psalm speaks of what it means to dwell "in the secret place of the most High" ^{Ps. 91:1.} and abide under the protection of the Almighty's shadow. And in the twenty-third Psalm the poet says confidently, "I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." ^{Ps. 23:6.}

We, too, can find that God is our dwelling place. The "secret place" is a state of consciousness rather than a physical location. It is the recognition of His presence with us, and we can feel His care wherever we are and place our children in the tender embrace of His love. Just as the captains and guards watched over young Joash, so trust and confidence in God will help us stand guard over our own thinking and prevent the entrance of fear and anxious thought about our children.

We all need to understand more fully the qualities children represent in today's society. Christ Jesus himself loved children. And when the disciples asked him who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, he placed a little child in the center of the group. A young child, who is often thought of today as the weakest and the most vulnerable member of society, was used to teach an important lesson about God's kingdom. Jesus praised the child's natural humility and told the disciples they must be converted—turn obediently to God—and humble themselves as little children if they wished to enter the kingdom of heaven. He said, "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."^{Matt. 18:10.}

What a wonderful concept of children Jesus had! He saw them as children of God, who could never stray from their Father's omnipresence. We can have the same assurance today. We need to know that our children are in truth God's children, immortal, spiritual, expressing the divine nature. We need to appreciate the Godlike qualities that are so transparently manifest in children—their love, their joy and spontaneity—and to recognize as God-derived their expectation of good, their enthusiasm for life and its unfolding adventure.

We too can preserve these childlike qualities in ourselves, for they originate in God and show forth our oneness with Him. They help us, too, to communicate more readily with today's children.

Mrs. Eddy had a deep affection for children. Commenting on the parents' responsibility in educating and nurturing children, she writes: "Too much cannot be done towards guarding and guiding well the germinating and inclining thought of childhood. To mould aright the first impressions of innocence, aids in perpetuating purity and in unfolding the immortal model, man in His image and likeness." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 261.} It may require much devotion and unselfishness on the part of parents to provide the right environment for a child's sturdy growth both physically and spiritually, for children learn readily by example.

Young children can be encouraged to turn to God for help when they are in difficulty. A little friend of mine, when she went to school for the first time, found that many of the children in her class were much bigger than she was. Some of the big boys bullied her in the playground, too. At first she was frightened to go to school, but she had been in the Christian Science Sunday School for several years; she knew that God was Love and that she was always safe in His loving embrace. She knew, too, that God gave her His angel thoughts to protect her. She had learned the definition of angels given by Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health, the Christian Science textbook: "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality." ^{Science and Health, p. 581.} The child was assured by her parents that she did not need to feel afraid or helpless on the school playground, because God's angels were with all the children, and only thoughts of goodness, purity, and love could be expressed. She was reminded each day when she packed her lunch box to take God's angel thoughts along with her too and to look for their presence in the classroom and on the playground. The bullying soon ceased, and she felt free to express her natural joy and poise.

Sometimes the challenge for older children is not so much being bullied as losing their individuality in the pack—acting out a role they would never assume on their own. We can be alert at these times to understand that they are held firmly in God's embrace. God, their Father-Mother, is the one true Spirit and Mind, the only presence and power. There is no counter influence to draw them away from the good that God is constantly providing for them. Prayer helps us realize that the attraction of Spirit is all-powerful and that no counter attraction can enter thought or pull man away from his God. The true nature of man is expressed in the spiritual qualities with which God has endowed him—qualities such as love, strength, gentleness, joy, and intelligence. In fact, Christian Science teaches that man is divine Mind's idea rather than a physical organism. Understanding this, we have dominion over our own thoughts and can act wisely, bringing our lives directly under the control of God's law of harmony. And these truths are just as applicable to teen-agers as they are to adults.

We can all pray to gain clearer, spiritual views of the youth of today. We can love the good we see in them and help them to value their true nature as sons and daughters of God.

Mrs. Eddy wrote a lovely poem "To the Sunday School Children." It includes the comforting words "Father, in Thy great heart hold them/Ever thus as Thine!" ^{Poems, p. 43.} Let's embrace all the world's children in this prayer.