Yes I know it’s the end of January and Christmas is a distant memory, but I can’t help thinking of the famous Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life when I read Matthew’s gospel, (Matthew 5:13-16). In this scripture Jesus is not talking to the “movers and the shakers,” the so-called leaders…the people with power and money, education and good looks. Jesus is talking to the common man, telling them that they possess the ability to transform the world according to God’s plan.
The main character in the movie, George Bailey, played by Jimmie Stewart, is a struggling businessman whose life’s dreams and aspirations have been shattered as he is sidetracked by unintended consequences and uncontrollable circumstances. I wonder how many of us can relate to unplanned events in our lives that have taken us far afield from our original life’s plans. As we look back don’t we often wonder how different life would have been if fate had not intervened? The movie reminds us that everything that happens has intended and unintended consequences and that somehow, someway, everyone in the story relates to one another.
There are two scenes in particular that reminds us that George Bailey is a “force for transformation.” One involves a discussion that George has with his father, during which he professes his desire to “make a difference” and rejects any notion of following in his father’s footsteps in the family’s “broken down savings and loan” business, and becoming a banker. His father tells him, you know, George, I feel that in a small way we are doing something important by satisfying a fundamental urge. It’s deep in the race for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace, and we’re helping him get those things in our shabby little office.
The other scene comes as George, a victim of unintended consequences and on the brink of despair, wonders if his life was all worth it. To which his “guardian angel,” Clarence responds Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?
We have all known people in our lives whom we believe make us better persons by just being in our lives. They’re the ones who make our day better, simply by talking to us. These are the Godly people about whom Jesus is speaking: You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Truly Godly people are the ones who make a difference everywhere they go, although unintended consequences may prevent them from even knowing that they have done anything or made any difference at all. Somehow, they always seem to be in the right place at the right time and doing the very thing that is most needed at any given time. And the difference between such Godly folks and everyone else, is that they try to live life as Jesus did by loving God the only way we really can…by loving one another. We are not alone; we are not insignificant; we are loved, cared for and intended for wonderful purposes. Yes, it truly is a wonderful life.
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