In the classic Jimmy Stewart Christmas movie It’s A Wonderful Life, he plays George Bailey, a man who is thrown back into the topsy-turvy town where he grew up.
An angel showed him how different Bedford Falls would be if he’d never been born. His brother, Harry, whom he saved from drowning as a kid, would have died and wouldn't have saved hundreds of men during World War II.
The young woman George loved, Mary, would not have become his wife and the mother of his many children. She became an “old maid.” Bedford Falls would have become totally corrupt and named Pottersville. (Old man Potter was the wealthiest, most dishonest, town bully.)
All the good George had done in people’s lives wouldn’t have happened. He no longer existed. No one in town knew him: not his friends, nor his family, not his wife, and not even his own mother.
Clarence, the angel, showed George what life would have been like if he’d never been born. This story is about faith and hope.
How about you? What would be canceled out, what life-changing events would not have occurred, what would not exist if you had never been born? Family, children, friends?
All around the world at Christmas time, people are celebrating the birth of Jesus. His name, Immanuel, means “God is with us” (Matthew 1:23). This historical event was prophesied 800 years earlier (Isaiah 7:14; 8:8).
That same night some shepherds heard the first announcement of “good news…This day, your Savior—who is the Messiah, the Lord—was born in David’s town!” (Bethlehem Luke 2). His birth place was prophesied by name 700 years before this (Micah 5:2).
What would be different in your world if Jesus had never been born? What would your town or possibly the world look like if you had never heard of Jesus? Would anything be different? You would have no way to gain freedom from your sins!
The greatest lesson you can take away from the film It’s A Wonderful Life is that no matter how bad life gets, there are people who truly love and care about you. Many lives have been touched by you.
Jesus loves you more than you can realize! Jesus showed how much He cares for you by being born. He shows His love for you by dying on a cross (Romans 5:8). Will you seek Him today?