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The Father of
Lost Causes “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord.’” (Luke 2:8-9) Do you ever wonder why God chooses lost causes? Why he chose insignificant shepherds to announce the lowly, homeless birth of Jesus? Sure, the shepherds “spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child” (Luke 2: 17), but couldn’t there have been a more flashy, attention-grabbing way of announcing the arrival of a Savior? Maybe God chooses the lost causes of this world to spread His good news because it makes it crystal clear that man has nothing to do with his own salvation. If He chooses the stuttering to be His voice and the stumbling to be His feet, we know beyond the shadow of a doubt that He is the one doing the saving. And that truly causes us to sing “Glory to God in the highest”. In 1987, another baby was born into lowly circumstances. He too had no place to lay his head. His mother, a mentally ill street woman, never spent more than a month or two in the same place. She quickly abandoned her young boy to a life of misery and violence on the mean streets of Tegucigalpa. By all accounts, this boy was destined for a life of violent crime, gang warfare and probably an early death…another nameless statistic in an ongoing tragedy. But God delights in working through lost causes. One morning in March 2002, we found this forgotten child sleeping on the sidewalk in front of the Micah House. He entered through the doors of the Micah House for the first time—a lost cause now found—a young man ready to discover his identity as a child of God. Pedro is his name—Peter. Fittingly, the young man’s namesake is the fisherman disciple who made great leaps of faith—and often found himself drowning in the process. Another lost cause, Peter the disciple denied his Lord after promising to follow him to his death, only to be later commissioned by his Forgiving Friend to feed His sheep. Our Pedro has grown into a true disciple as well in his four years at the Micah Project. And, unsurprisingly, he has a true talent for believing in lost causes. Last week, he was doing some nighttime street outreach when he came across an abandoned baby. The newborn’s prostitute mother had left the baby in the arms of a teenage street girl before disappearing. Pedro took the sixteen-day-old baby in his arms and went off in a taxi to see if someone, anyone, had “room at the inn” for this little one. Pedro is not perfect…what disciple is? But his Father has taken this son by the hand and has used him to bring the “good news of great joy” throughout Honduras. Pedro has developed into a talented singer and songwriter. This year, he has sung in public parks, high schools, churches, and on television. One of his songs ends this way:
Whom are you going to choose? That is the question that I want to ask you; Because in your failures you only want to run. Listen! In God there is life; hope that doesn’t turn back.
Why does a forgotten son of a street woman sing so confidently about hope? It’s obvious to him: because God loves lost causes! We have seen this hope multiplied twenty-four times in the Micah Project in our seven years of operation. Some of our young men have been with us since the beginning and are now defying all odds by moving through their university education towards a hope-filled life. Others are newer arrivals, still discovering for themselves that they are not lost causes. All of them, though, have one thing in common: the salvation that has found them, that has reached into the darkest corners of Tegucigalpa to redeem them, shouts “glory to God in the highest!” through every one of their lives. Your love and continued support reminds our young men of the hope God has called them to. Even as they choose light and life, darkness still surrounds them on all sides, whispering to them that it is their true home. Thank you for giving them the courage to step out into the raging sea, just as Peter did so long ago, knowing every day that their Savior’s loving hand will sustain them. In this Christmas season, we thank you for empowering our young men to join the heavenly chorus in singing, “Glory to God in the highest”. Your brother in Christ, Michael Miller
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