Celebrating the Value of Children

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Jesus celebrated the value of children:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said,
“Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said,
“Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children,
you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever then humbles himself as this child,
he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me . . .”
Matthew 18:1-5

And He strongly condemned those who hurt them:

“. . . but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble,
it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck,
and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Matthew 18:6

Throughout history adults have done shameful things to children. A letter survives from a father in ancient Rome who was in the army far from home. He wrote his wife that if their next child was a boy, she should keep it; if it was a girl, she was to throw it out. That kind of thinking still exists today and is acted out when parents decide to abort a baby if it is not the sex they prefer. During the time that Marguerite d’Youville lived in New France, mothers left unwanted babies beside a river. While Amy Carmichael was serving in India, parents were giving and selling their children to temples. Today in some places parents give or sell their children to people involved in human trafficking.

At the beginning of the twentieth century when Amy Carmichael began rescuing children, parents had many reasons for giving or selling their children to a temple. Some of the reasons were based in superstition. Sometimes there was an illness in the home and the parents vowed to give one of their children to the gods if the sick person recovered. In some families, certain children were regarded as belonging to the gods right from the start because of their birth order. Sometimes a man was not happy with his wife, so he got rid of her and if they had a child, he might dedicate the child to the gods so he could start fresh with a new family. Sometimes a family felt they simply could not afford to have another mouth to feed, and they knew that the temple women would pay good money for their child. Sometimes parents abandoned their babies and left them by the roadside. If a temple woman found one of those babies, she would take it to the temple — if it was pretty and seemed intelligent.

These scenes from He Is Near show how the people of Dohnavur Fellowship celebrated the value of children.

The accals (“older sisters”) at Dohnavur educated the children who came to them. In this scene, the children are learning from God’s creation, which was a common way the accals taught them.

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In this scene, the adult Star, who has now become an accal herself, leads the children in a song about elephants that Amy taught her when she was a child.

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An Indian woman called Old Devai rescued children from pagan temples and brought them to Dohnavur Fellowship where they would be loved. Here she tells Amy that she is about to leave to rescue a little girl.

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On the 6th day of each month, Dohnavur Fellowship dedicated all of the new children to the Lord. When a child asks why they dedicate children on the 6th, the accal Preena tells about her own rescue on the 6th of March in 1901.

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These two children were dedicated on that particular dedication day.

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Because the adults at Dohnavur often did not know when a child’s birthday was, they honored individual children on the anniversary of the day he or she came to live with them, calling that special day “Coming Day.” This little girl is Chellalu, and this is her Coming Day. Amy gives her a gift and places a band of flowers on her head.

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The scene ends with one of Amy’s faithful workers, Arul Dasan, leading the children in a prayer for other children. He tells them, “And now, let us pray for nearby towns and all of the children there who are trapped in darkness. Please, anyone, say the name of the town the Lord lays on your heart.” The scene ends with the children repeating, “Gracious Lord, we pray Thee to save the children there!” every time a child calls out the name of a town.

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Meanwhile in the village, Old Devai meets with a temple woman, asking her to give her the “delivery” the temple woman received the day before. When the temple woman feigns ignorance, Old Devai says plainly, “Where’s the baby?”

When the temple woman asks, “What baby?” Old Devai replies: “The one that was brought here yesterday! The baby girl! The fourth child born into the family. Unwanted because they are afraid the little lamb will bring a curse. Shame on them for thinking such a thing.”

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Because the baby did not sleep well the night before and because she seems to be sick, the temple woman consents. She makes the transfer quickly for fear she will be caught.

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Old Devai calls for a rickshaw and hurries away . . .

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. . . while two men, who have figured out what is going on, run after her.

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Though chased by the men, Old Devai makes it safely back to Dohnavur, where the baby will be safe.

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Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Psalm 127:3

This post is the third in a series about the play He Is Near, performed by the Homeschool Dramatic Society in mid-September. You can read the other posts in this series at these links: first, second.

He Is Near is based on Mimosa by Amy Carmichael, © 1924 by The Dohnavur Fellowship; Gold Cord by Amy Carmichael, © 1932 by The Dohnavur Fellowship; Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank L. Houghton, © 1953 by The Dohnavur Fellowship; and Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael, ©1999 by The Dohnavur Fellowship. Used by permission of CLC Publications. For more information about Amy Carmichael and The Dohnavur Fellowship, or to purchase her books, visit clcpublications.com.

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