Strong spirits: what if?
What would our world be like if Jesus had never been born?
I hope you are entering this new year with hope! You can, you know...
This season, you may have watched that old Christmas classic, "It's a Wonderful Life." The premise of the movie is that a man is given the chance to look at what life in his small town would look like if he had never been born.
It's a good and sobering question to ask ourselves: what would our world be like if I had not been born? Would it be better or worse?
Here's an even better and more sobering question to ask: what would our world be like if Jesus had never been born? It doesn't take a genius to realize our world would be far different, and far worse, had Jesus never come.
But the great news is, he did come! "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) And he accomplished all he intended to, including securing, at the cost of his life, eternal life for all who will receive it. "Yet to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." (John 1:12)
If you haven't yet, I invite you to receive him and believe in him. He will make your world a whole lot better, too!
Gary Schwerin serves as pastor at Caledonia Congregational Church. He is also the Spiritual Development Minister for the YMCA of the Rock River Valley and Executive Director of Bridge Ministries of Rockford. Prior to launching Bridge Ministries, Gary spent many years in leadership with Young Life. His columns appear here every Sunday - subscribe to our daily email so you don't miss any.
