Why?

…  "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 2:10-11 (NIV)Why?Why bother? Sometimes it’s so much easier to start over, to replace, to get something new. It might actually be much easier and cheaper than fixing it, not to speak of it being faster.It has always been so with us, from the earliest of times people dumped things, broken things, obsolete stuff, junk, garbage, and people. Archeologists love finding old dumps, they tell a lot, as do graves. No one knows how to dump things like we do; we are experts in discarding, replacing, and not bothering to fix things.Nothing is more difficult than fixing humanity, people, you and me. And why bother? Help one; ten others will take his or her place. There is no corner of the earth where you won’t encounter human brokenness, need, suffering, and evil. It is utterly amazing that in spite of the incredible intelligence, creativity, and capacity contained within humanity, that in spite of our ability to love, care, and do good, human brokenness has not diminished. We rewrite the same story over and over, and in the big scheme of things the vast majority of people are utterly disposable, not worth fixing, way too expensive for making a profit, and way easier to use and use up than to really care for.So why does God bother? If anyone has the capability to start over, to replace, to trade in this failed model for a new one, surely He is it. Why does God care about you and me, us? Why is He so patient with us, our brokenness, our stubbornness, our sinfulness? Why does His heart especially beat for the most needy, the insignificant, the helpless, and the hopeless? And why does He pursue us, invite us to be changed, changed into people who care, who bother like He does?Christmas, the first coming of Jesus Christ, the incarnation of God is good news, glad tidings, and great joy because it testifies to the love God. God could not have bothered, He could have started over, He could have abandoned us to our self-created misery, lostness, hopelessness, and corruption, and be perfectly justified. Instead He loves us and offered, and gave His one and only Son to do for us what none of us can do ourselves. Namely, to save us, change us, to grow us into men and women who would love like He does, to become utterly incapable of saying, “Why bother?” and instead say “Why not?”Merry Christmas, to God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans