It is a Wonderful Life!
Posted by: randalm <randalm@...>
forthright.antville.org
No place to go for Christmas? Think again ...
It is a Wonderful Life!
by Tim Hall
Among the rituals of the holiday season is the
replaying of Christmas television specials. Though
we've seen "Frosty The Snowman", "Miracle On 34th
Street" and "A Christmas Carol" dozens of times,
there's something warm and comforting in watching
them all over again. It brings back memories of
happy days of the past.
I've always enjoyed Jimmy Stewart in "It's A
Wonderful Life". In case you've forgotten the
story, it's about George Bailey, a good and honest
man who has to work hard to make a living. A
misfortune comes his way, given a little boost by
evil, and George decides that he is worth more
dead than he is worth alive. He decides to end his
life by jumping into the river.
Before he can carry out his plan, however, he is
given an opportunity to see what the value of his
life really is. In the end, he decides that his is
truly a wonderful life.
One of the most poignant scenes is when George
returns to his home town as a stranger. Through a
divine act, George's past life is erased. It's as
if he had never existed. No one knows George,
though he knows each of them. He races from one
person to another, but no one recognizes or
welcomes him. He is a stranger, and a very strange
one at that. In this condition, he has no place to
call home. It is a frightening scenario.
That could well describe our situation B.C. --
before Christ. Paul pointed to it: ". . . that at
that time you were without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from
the covenants of promise, having no hope and
without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12, New
King James Version).
Do any of us know what it means to be an alien?
Not likely. We can usually find someone, in person
or by phone, who will say "Sure, come on over and
spend the night with us." An alien, however, has
no such welcome. He's the one standing outside,
looking hopelessly through brightly lit windows at
scenes of family gatherings. Shivering, he
realizes there is no family for him.
That was before Christ. "Now, therefore, you are
no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God" (Ephesians 2:19). "Welcome!
Don't just stand there, man -- come in out of the
cold! Here's a place set for you at the table, and
a guest room has been prepared for you tonight.
You're among friends!"
All who name the glorious name of Jesus Christ and
submit to His simple commands have such a
wonderful life given to them. Imagine that: All
this and heaven, too (see Mark 10:29,30)! How
could anyone refuse such an offer?