Day 12

Making Room for the Lost Cause



Psalm 25:3, Psalm 28:6-9, Jonah 3:1-10, Luke 19:1-10, Acts 9:17-31, 1 Peter 2:9

BY Rebecca Faires

“Everybody, even the worst stinker on earth, is somebody for whom Christ died.”
– Robert Farrar Capon

I know so many stinkers. I bet you do too. The question of what to do about someone who seems like a lost cause is, frankly, often on my mind. I knew some real stinkers even when I was in middle school, and during those years I was very committed to reading The Lord of the Rings. All those years ago, dressed in my mithril shirt, clutching my sword of Gondor, and nibbling on lembas bread, I discovered the stinker to beat them all: Gollum.

Originally, he was just a normal hobbit, until he fell into some bad circumstances (found a dangerous object) and made some bad choices (murdered his cousin) that conspired to turn him into the wretched creature we all know as Gollum. Most of the “lost causes” I know got that way because of similar reasons: an unfortunate combination of bad choices and bad circumstances.

That instinct to be free of a “lost cause” is something many of us share, although we aren’t inclined to admit it. But, man, remember how Saul persecuted the church, and stood by, complicit, at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:54–66)? God picked Saul up, turned him around one hundred and eighty degrees, and sent him in the other direction with instructions to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 9:20). God wasn’t done with Saul; He had a whole new life in store for him as Paul, follower of Jesus.

The story of Zacchaeus is similar, though instead of being a zealous Pharisee, Zacchaeus was a rich and “sinful” man (Luke 19:1–2,7). But like Paul, Zacchaeus repented when he met Christ (Luke 19:5–6). Both Paul and Zacchaeus turned from their old way of life, not because they sought Christ on their own, but because they were called to Him. The change in their lives didn’t happen because they were fed up with life and focused all their gumption toward making themselves better human beings. It was God who called them to Himself.

If you are a Christian today, it’s not because you are a better or more disciplined person than your “lost cause.” It is because of “the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). He calls us. He changes us. It is He who makes the difference in the lives of the broken, the stubborn, the sneaky, the exhausting, the terrifying, and the unlovely.

What do we do in the meantime? If it’s all up to God, does that get me off the hook? I would be so happy to go back to my second breakfast and let God deal with His own invitations to stinkers. Jonah definitely felt the same way: Good riddance, Nineveh, you bunch of eye-gougers! (Jonah 3:1–3; 4:1–3, my summation and paraphrase). Then God had to call both Jonah and Nineveh to obedience; He called Nineveh to repent and Jonah to deliver His message of repentance.

And there it is. God does the calling. God does the changing. We are called to pray and walk in obedience, even if our steps are slow.

We don’t know the exact end of the story. In spite of how much I wanted Gollum to be shoved off a cliff and go away already, at the end of The Lord of the Rings, he was necessary to save the whole world. Even the most seemingly hopeless case may still have a part to play. The gospel urges us not to give up, but instead to hope continually in quiet obedience.

Post Comments (128)

128 thoughts on "Making Room for the Lost Cause"

  1. Jennie P says:

    A wonderful reinforcement of our determination to pray for our son, who believed the gospel at an early age but has been pretty much off the rails – and really quite awful – for the last eight years. Our daughter too, much more compliant but just as estranged from Christ in her own way. We pray for them both every day, knowing that the Lord hears our prayers and loves them more than we do, and will work in their lives according to his will and purpose.

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