It's A Wonderful Life

George Bailey grew up in a loving household, the elder of two sons.  George had great ambition – he dreamed of one day touring the globe, learning about cultures and their architecture, and one day returning to build great buildings that would inspire for generations.  George was an old soul – his character was rich with compassion.  Early in life he made decisions to risk his own well-being for the sake of others – once in saving his brother’s life in a sledding accident (which cost him his hearing in one ear).  On another occasion, he intentionally disobeyed his employer in order to save another child’s life from being poisoned from a pharmaceutical mix-up.  His dreams were high, and his heart was deep.

Unfortunately, George’s dreams were cut short just before he was to set out for his dream life – his father died.  George was faced with a terrible decision: go fulfill his travel and educational dream, or stay to save the Building & Loan business his father had built and run for years.  If he chose to leave the Building and Loan behind, he could easily shake the dust of Bedford Falls off his feet and get on with his life.  But leaving would also mean the end of the Building & Loan and with it the end of hope for hundreds of people who would never be able to afford a home with his father’s business.

His choice was between personal comfort and sacrifice for the good of others.

In the story of Jesus’ birth, Joseph faced a similar predicament.  Should he stay the course he had dreamed – leaving Mary behind and hopefully finding someone else down the pike – or should he sacrifice his personal comfort and dreams for something much greater, and much larger than himself?

A few years later, the underlying love between George and Mary blossomed, and they were married.  While en route to their honeymoon train, people in downtown Bedford Falls went nuts.  Ernie the cab driver wondered if it was a run on the banks.  He was right.  George had another difficult choice to make – go on his honeymoon or do damage control at the Building & Loan.  Mary encouraged him to stay in the cab, but George went anyway.  And just as his customers were starting to go wild, Mary showed up, and offered their own honeymoon savings to keep the company afloat.  The choice between personal comfort and sacrifice for a greater good was before him yet again, and George (and now Mary, too) chose the latter.

It’s reasonable to believe that by the time Jesus was a toddler, Joseph had established himself in the village of Bethlehem.  He was probably picking up carpentry jobs here and there to make ends meet.  He and Mary were probably enjoying a normal life together.  But then he had a dream in which God instructed him to pick up his stakes and move to Egypt to save Jesus’ life.  The choice arose between personal comfort and sacrifice for the greater good.  Joseph chose the latter.

Personal comfort or sacrifice for the greater good.  That’s the choice we face over and over and over again.

Jesus was clear about the choice, too.  He said the choice was between the Kingdom of God and the garbage dump.  The word “hell” shows up, but we must understand that this specific word literally referred to a famous garbage dump just outside of Jerusalem.  When Jesus used that word for hell, his audience thought of the dump.  I’ve switched it out in the following verses where Jesus speaks to his audience about the cost of going our own way, which often doesn’t produce the results we thought would come.

Jesus’ Use of Hell in Matthew 5:

²² …And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of [the dump]….

²⁹ So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into [the dump].

³⁰ And if your hand—even your stronger hand—causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into [the dump].

Jesus’ Use of Hell in Matthew 7:

¹³ “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to [the dump] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. ¹⁴ But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Jesus repeatedly refers to the Kingdom of God as the “zone” where life really resides.  The Kingdom isn’t simply heaven – the Pearly Gates and streets of gold.  The Kingdom is now, present, at work in the world, redeeming and restoring people and places all the time.  That’s where meaningful life is found, not in simply looking after ourselves.

Jesus stated that the more we try to save our lives by serving our own needs, the more our lives will actually be lost.  But the more we give our lives to the way of life exemplified by Jesus, the more we will really live.  See what Jesus says…

Jesus On The Bottom Line in Luke 9 (NLT):

²³ Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. ²⁴ If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. ²⁵ And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? ²⁶ If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. ²⁷ I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God.”

George Bailey discovered, with the help of God, that his life and sacrifice mattered much more than he realized.  He didn’t have much in the way of money, but he was certainly rich with life. 

Joseph risked his life on God, and discovered a life of impact and experiences that would have been missed if he chose to simply give into our natural tendency to simply look after ourselves.  Joseph could not have foreseen what level of impact his decisions made.  But the truth is that billions of lives have been transformed by the grace of God discovered in Jesus Christ because he trusted God more than his selfish instincts.

The truth is that jumping into the way of life seems scary at the time.  But over time, as God helps us get more and more of our life aligned with the ways of the Kingdom, the more living we actually experience, and the more God, too.  Have you made the jump to trusting God more than yourself?  What parts of your life are not aligned – and therefore holding you back from experiencing more of the life God is offering?