Be a Porch Light for Caylee Anthony

Don’t just turn on a porchlight for Caylee Anthony, BE a porch light for her murdered little soul.

This is my porch light for Caylee Anthony

My workplace was abuzz when the verdict came down – not guilty. On the ride home, callers besieged talk radio lines with their disbelief and fury. The Internet was alight as if all the fireflies of the earth had gathered in one clearing for a town meeting and decided to flicker in sync.

It seems that most of the land is in agreement that while all the details of what occurred may not be clear, Casey Anthony is most definitely NOT not guilty.

As if America had agreed to a mass port mortem adoption, people decided that if Caylee Anthony’s own mother would not stand up for her in her death, they would.

It’s shocking every time a mother murders her children. It should be. Mothers nurture life. Mothers defend life at the cost of their own lives. Mothers are the voices for their children when they are too small to speak for themselves. When that system goes awry, collectively we cannot comprehend it.

A jury has decided that Casey Anthony is not guilty and we must trust that based on the evidence presented to them, there was reasonable doubt. And we want those laws to be there in the event that any of us is falsely accused of a crime. We all want reasonable doubt to work on our behalf so we must swallow it when it works for another.

But even if Casey is not guilty of murdering Caylee, she is guilty in her daughter’s death, disappearance, and the convolution of the case to determine exactly what happened to little Caylee. Mothers don’t betray their children by recklessly partying while their bodies lie wrapped in duct tape and plastic in a dark swamp. Americans are refusing to accept this notion and it’s a sign of health and hope that we do.

Mothers have murdered since Biblical times. Queen Athaliah was the wicked mother of King Ahaziah of Israel. He was 22 when he became king and he was an evil king, encouraged in his wickedness by his mother. When he was murdered she didn’t grieve, she had the rest of the royal family – her family – slaughtered to secure her own place on the throne. Her own daughter hid one of Ahaziah’s sons from her and eventually, Joash, raised by a nursemaid, was named king. Athaliah, in her corrupt mind and in her greed for power, cut down her own children and grandchildren in the interest of self-protection. So, God isn’t shocked by Casey Anthony. He’s seen it all before.

One radio personality impressed me yesterday in that he wouldn’t tolerate callers who insisted that Casey Anthony must be insane. “She’s not mentally ill,” he insisted. “Why do we persist in believing that every person who does something we don’t understand is mentally ill?” he proclaimed. “She was selfish and her selfishness grew to a point where her daughter’s life became dispensable.”

He didn’t say it on the radio but that isn’t mental illness – it’s sin.

Say what you will about the Christian church but, historically, its teachings have been that human lives have value and when Christianity came on the scene, that was a radical notion.

God says in Genesis that Abel’s blood cried out to him from the dirt and he told Noah that he would call everyman to account for the life of his fellow human. Life is to be valued and protected – not destroyed without thought or consequence. This has been a central tenet of our faith.

Queen Athaliah served a different God. She served Baal. Some who worshipped Baal practiced infant sacrifice. In her worldview, life is expendable. It was only a few bloody steps from that to murdering her children and grandchildren.

In our country, we engage every day in “oh, aren’t we so evolved” debates about life, death, personal choice and the wisdom of atheism and freedom from religion – but we forget where a godless society leads.

Sin, nurtured, grows up to become death.

God knows the truth of what happened to Caylee Anthony. I believe her blood cries out to him just as Abel’s cried out from the ground. He hears little Caylee’s plea for justice.

If you want to put on a porchlight for Caylee Anthony, consider opening God’s word and praying for His light to shine in your heart and soul. Even if you’ve been fighting Him. Even if you don’t believe in Him.

Turning on the light of Jesus Christ in your life will be like igniting a million fireflies on a hot moonless night. This is a light that can make a difference and we need to make that difference because there are other Caylee’s out there. There are other Caylee’s whose mothers are watching what has happened in this case and now they are thinking how good it would be to be free of this one mistake, this one flesh and blood mishap that holds them back from the good life they’ve been dreaming they would have.

Don’t just turn on a porchlight – BE a light for Caylee Anthony and for all the babies with duct tape and swamps in their futures. Stand up for the value of every human life and stand against the sin that leads to death. There are more Athaliah’s and Casey’s standing in the wings – stand with God against them.