It's A Wonderful Life Series

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my favorite movies of all time. The movie, directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, came out in 1946. It is the story of a man named George Bailey, a man who gave up his dreams in order to help others. After his uncle loses a large amount of money from the business, George loses hope. On Christmas Eve he decides to commit suicide but is stopped by an angel named Clarence Odbody. Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched, and how different the town of Bedford Falls would have been if he had never been born. Even though it was not a success at the box office when it first came out, it is now considered one of the greatest films of all time. The American Film Institute named it one of the 100 best American films ever made. It’s director Frank Capra once said that it was his personal favorite among all the films he ever directed and would show it every Christmas to his family.

So what can we learn from this film?

Ephesians 2:1-5 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.

So what would a world without Jesus look like?

1. A World without Forgiveness (1-3) - healing

To prepare him for his mission, Clarence is shown a number of flashbacks from George’s life. The first is when a 12 year old George saves his younger brother Harry from drowning in a frozen lake.

The second flashback is when George was young and had an after school job. One day he realizes that the druggist Mr Gower had made a mistake. He was so distraught over the death of his own son from the flu that he had accidently added poison to another child’s prescription. George has to intervene to stop him from causing harm.

Clarence shows George what the world would have been like if he had never been born, if those mistakes had not been avoided. Mr. Gower is now an alcoholic, having just been released from prison for killing the boy with poison. The building and Loan had long since closed down because Harry had not been around to run it when his father died. His Uncle had been put in an asylum. All the soldiers on the transport ship had died because Harry had not been there to shoot down the enemy plane. All of these people’s lives were different because the mistakes that were made had not been covered.

Let me ask you this morning, what is the biggest mistake you ever made? What were the consequences of that mistake? I have done a number of dumb things in my life like skydiving, and for the most part physically, apart from a few broken bones, I am none the worse for wear. There are decisions that we can make that have consequences that stay with us the rest of our lives.

Spiritually, is there any area of your life in which you feel your conscience giving you a "guilty" verdict. If there were areas of your life you could erase, what would those areas be. Have you ever caught yourself saying, "If only I could do things over again, I would do this or that different".

The Conscience Fund, begun in 1811 by the US Government. Has collected $3,500,000. An Average of $45,000 a year. (The biggest year was 1950 in which 350,00 was collected). It is from people giving money back to the government from things stolen. A note from Feb. 6, 1974 said, "I am sending $10 for blankets I stole while in WWII. My mind could not rest. Sorry I'm late. I want to be ready to meet God." It was signed "an Ex-GI". Thousand of letters are received for as little as a stamp that was used twice to 30 pounds of frozen meat. All from people trying to make up for a guilty conscience.

In the scripture that we read this morning, Paul is writing to the church in Ephesus. He says;

Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.