Baby No. 59

I have been haunted over the last few days by the image of a little infant boy removed from a sewage pipe after being literally flushed down the toilet by his mother. I struggled with seeing the video of the rescue but finally submitted, watching in disbelief that after an hour of being stuck in filth the small baby still breathed and had life. Truly, this was a miracle.

Once the pipe cover was finally removed, revealing the 6 pound 2 oz frame, the baby opened his mouth wide. It was as if he had been waiting to breathe in fresher air. At that point many things flashed before my eyes leaving myself breathless with all other thoughts suspended - the final one spawning the notion of just what a 'civilized' society today considers to be an appropriate waste product worthy of removal. And the fact that a person, or more pointedly a mother, could be led to believe that a newborn baby is somehow synonymous with 'waste' is beyond horrifying. Such cruelty, indifference and antipathy cannot be matched.

In a similar fashion have are our own morals and core principles been spiraling down to suffocate and die in a sea of our own created filth. Tragically, this man-made ocean is vast and very deep reflecting a perpetual pouring out of values no different than what occurred among the ancient Greeks and Romans who, in the end, both fell from greatness.

Perhaps the late Robert E. Howard said it best when his wild character, King Kull, exclaimed:

"The more I see of what you call civilization, the more highly I think of what you call savagery."

Have we fallen that far?

Once again, the fact that someone could flush a breathing, beating human baby down a decrepit pipe filled with waste and filth is beyond all moral comprehension. Truly, it grieves my soul. I may never really know how or why a mother could grant her baby's first breath within the confines of a sewage drain and considering my emotional reactions to the whole thing I would not be far removed from having such a person flushed down the same drain - only in pieces.

But, like the adulteress's accusers, I must also drop the stone of unrighteous judgment in obedience to the Master's command, who, in the end, will hold all things [and people] in their proper balance, especially the affairs of this infant baby's mother.

Now, while the majority of my posted blogs convey a message of real disdain and frustration for evil and political corruption in the world followed by a plan of action to correct it, it is of my opinion that this truly heart-wrenching story can in reality be one of gratitude and thanksgiving.

And here's why:

That in a country like China, where forced abortions are as routined as an early morning shower, there are still those with sufficient sense - or feeling - to recognize evil and then act accordingly in defense of the innocent.

By this truth alone do I still retain hope in humanity and the responsibility we all have to be 'my brother's keeper.'

On a more spiritual note, and given my personal interest and testimony of scripture I could not help but reflect on 'Baby No. 59' and wonder what the 59th chapter of Psalms in the Old Testament had to say, if anything, about this sort of thing. Upon careful review I did in fact find a sweet assurance and source of understanding in its final two verses.

They read:

"But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing: for God is my defence, and the God of my mercy." (vs. 16-17)

To be sure, God is merciful and permits his divine light to shine down on the good and the bad. I hope this baby's mother finds the help and healing she needs and can experience a mighty change of heart as a result of the one still beating inside her infant son's chest.

We live in a mad world that is fast losing its hold on all things pure and innocent - yea, even on our own young - but we must never quit or give in to the despair. Rather, just as the psalmist recorded, it is our duty to sing of His mercies and blessings and to rejoice in the saving of a newborn's life that by all accounts should not have survived.

So, I will forever pray that God's infinite goodness will continue to make itself manifest in the lives of good people who remain unafraid in their raising of the arm of virtue in defense of the weak - along with their voice(s) - in singing aloud His tender mercies over all in their day of trouble - especially Baby No. 59.

Long live the fighters