Why?

Bill Cosby’s 1965 Album entitled, “Why Is There Air?” answers the question in a humorous but insightful way. Cosby quips, “Any Physical Education major knows that the reason there is air is to inflate volleyballs and basketballs.” Cosby’s college girlfriend, the Philosophy major with an IQ of 300… thousand had queried, “Why is there air?” Within the humorous imagination of Bill Cosby is the sardonic insight that much of what we question is overkill at best. We often not only ask too many questions filled with pointless platitudes but often we ask the wrong questions. This is more than curiosity gyrating into cat extermination but rather a reflection of our inability to see the obvious or comprehend the bigger picture. Like insatiable children asking why at every juncture we fail to stop and reflect on what we know before chasing after the unknown. Okay, but isn’t curiosity the road to higher education and the foundation of both the sciences and the arts?

I’m glad you asked! Yes, man’s questioning nature has led him to many important discoveries and inventions. No doubt, that sometimes curiosity has built the cat instead of executing it. Light has replaced darkness. Understanding has dispelled ignorance. However, there seems to me to be one “Why?” that alone deserves our allegiance. It is valuable to our faith and our discipleship. It is the question, “Why do I do what I do?” Forget about why there is air and who’s full of it and reflect on what motivates us to be Christ followers. In our text this morning the religious elite sent representatives to question John the Baptist (John 1:19-28). John had no reservations about who he was or what he was doing. He was a witness to something greater than himself. His venue was the desert, his successor’s the temple. He was a foot servant unworthy to unlace the sandals of the one who would be King of kings. His voice was a summons to make ready for the Lord of lords. He was a witness, not a prophet nor the Christ. He was John the baptizing one calling people to repentance.

Such clarity of identity and purpose is why we are here! It is the answer to why we do what we do. It is the big picture that brings into focus all the other whys we often impale ourselves upon. We are witnesses of the Christ. Our testimony is that we are not worthy and our voice is a summons for all to make ready for His place in their hearts. I’m not trivializing the harrowing “whys”… why do the innocent suffer? Or why do the wicked persist while the righteous fail? Or why hasn’t Christ returned? What I am saying is that the very personal answer to the question, “Why do I do what I do?” Is the answer that witnesses to the one who is the answer! He alone makes sense out of the nonsense and He alone bridges the gap between God and man! That’s why I’m His witness! -DAN