We all just want to belong.

In light of some of the recent events in Honduras, I have been thinking a lot about what the root issue is. Let me explain: A few weeks ago, Fernando (12 years old), quit school and returned to the streets of Los Pinos to live in the dump with his mom. Rumor has it, he is hanging out with older boys doing paint thinner daily and also smoking pot and attempting to rob people. His 15-year old brother, Josue, is buying the pot for him. The boys' older brother Cristofer is also back on the streets getting high daily. A few days ago, Jimmi, 16 years old and a dear friend to many, was shot and killed as he tried to rob someone in the streets of Los Pinos. 

These kids are putting their lives in danger daily. 

The big question is:

Why?

[Fernando, 12--playing with toy cars]

I think one of the main reasons that many of them continue the street life is to feel like they are a part of something. To feel like they belong. To be accepted and loved by their "friends." Isn't that what we all really want in life? To feel like we are a part of something, like we belong...to be accepted and loved by others? The thing is, most of us have families, friends, churches, small groups, jobs, and other environments we are involved in that make us feel welcomed and loved. These street kids don't have that. Most of them don't even have parents who love or care for them. 

So they go looking in other places to feel loved and accepted. 

For many years of my life, I did the same thing. Before I met Jesus in a real and tangible way, I turned to alcohol and relationships with guys to fill the longing I felt in my heart to be accepted and loved. It was dangerous, destructive, and never truly fulfilled the desires of my heart. But because our God is a God of grace, he has brought me out of that lifestyle and has given me an abundant life in Him. I no longer have to look to other things to fill the longings of my heart. 

God has filled that hole completely and perfectly.

[crushing the old life]                       [being filled with the new]

"They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them."  --Ezekiel 34:27

I have been freed from the things that used to enslave me, and it is only because of the Lord! He has broken the chains in my life that tied me to my past and used to hold me back. Now I am springing forth into something new. 

This is where I belong.

I long to see these kids turn their lives fully over to the Lord and never look back! I pray that they will come to experience the love and FREEDOM that God has for them. I want them to know that they are loved and that the Lord has a unique plan for each one of their lives, if they are willing to accept it in obedience. Most of all, I want them to know that as a part of the body of Christ they are needed, loved, and accepted. 

And this is where they BELONG.

Please join me in praying for Fernando, Josue, Cristofer, and others who have chosen street life to feel a sense of belonging, love, and acceptance. Pray that the Lord would use Jimmi's death as a message to others that are following the same path. Pray that their minds and hearts would be AWAKENED to something new. That through Jimmi's death, LIFE would spring forth. 

A new and abundant life in Christ.