Pastor Joe Sanders - December 5, 2010
The Compassion of Christmas
Trying to get a grasp on God's goodness is difficult if not impossible. When we compare ourselves to God, its hard to rightly define our own goodness. Are we good? Can we be good? How good is God? The Bible's portrayal of man is pretty bleak and there's a stark contrast offered up for the differences between man and God. Scripture describes God as ultimately good, completely good, holy in every sense of the word. The problem for us is that we want to compare ourselves to the wrong standards so that we don't look so bad. God's goodness, his righteousness, demanded justice- so he acted. And he acted in a way that is shocking, the opposite of what we would expect. God acted in mercy and compassion and he sent his son Jesus. On that first Christmas so long ago, God ran to us and met us at a stable when we couldn't (and didn't want to) move toward him.
Scripture References: Romans 3:9-18