1 Peter 1:3-4
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you…”
God brought a dream to my mind one night many years ago where I saw vivid images of myself from 51 years ago, sitting alone in our house, watching an old black and white movie on TV. My impression was that seeing the movie had something to do with lifting me out of fear, despair, during a period of my life when I had lost all hope and was intent on ending my life. When I woke up, images from the dream kept coming back. I began to ask myself questions: was it just a dream, my imagination or could it be a memory of a true experience, long forgotten?
A few days after the dream, I stopped in our local Christian bookstore to buy Christmas cards. As I waited in line, my eyes scanned the front counter where all the trinkets and tracts were on display. Suddenly something familiar caught my eye—a gospel tract with a photo of the movie in my dream. My heart began beating faster; I couldn’t wait to get to the front. I picked up the packet but it was wrapped in cellophane so I asked the clerk if there were any already opened that I might look at it but she shook her head. My eyes began to fill with tears and I pleaded, “But, I need to see this, please, may I open it?” At that moment I decided I would buy the packet anyway so I moved out of the line and began to read about the movie that saved my life…
It was a story about someone who, like me, was overcome with fear, despair, and had lost all hope. The main character, George Bailey, sat in a local bar, and through his tears he uttered a prayer of brokenness and desperation: “Dear Father in heaven, I’m not a praying man, but if You’re up there and You can hear me, show me the way. I’m at the end of my rope. Show me the way, God…” As I read the tract’s description of the movie, I remembered watching it during a time when feelings of fear and depression had convinced me that, like George Bailey, there was no hope for my future and that there was no other way out but to end my life. “The tract quotes Jimmy Stewart as he reflected on his praying scene, “As I said those words, I felt the loneliness, the hopelessness of people who had nowhere to turn and my eyes filled with tears. I broke down sobbing. This was not planned at all, but the power of that prayer, the realization that our Father in heaven is there to help the hopeless, had reduced me to tears.”
Watching this engaging Christmas story unfold, I connected with George and the tears flowed down my cheeks. An angel, Clarence, showed George through a series of incidents that his life had meaning and purpose, that there was a plan for him, and that the world would be a very different place without him. George comes to realize that, indeed, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” I wasn’t convinced of that in just two hours of movie-watching, but it was enough to give me the strength and hope I needed to put aside any thoughts of ending my life that night.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” has become my all-time favorite movie, reminding me that fear and despair were replaced with enough hope to begin my search for God’s eternal hope. Shortly after that experience, I was once again sitting alone watching TV, and after a search for something to watch, I finally settled on a Billy Graham Crusade. The truth from God’s Word he shared that night convicted my heart and I made the decision to place my faith in Jesus Christ, securing my eternal life and accepting His promise of forgiveness and hope. Looking back on what the Lord has done since that year, 1972, 51 years ago, when my life changed forever, I can truly say, “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
The message of hope that comes from the real Christmas story can reach us through a book, a song and, if you look really hard, sometimes even through an old movie! But the truth of the Christmas story comes from the Scriptures telling us that Christ brings hope into a world of hopelessness. As we enter into the Advent season this coming Sunday, I hope you will join me as we look at the Christmas story from the richest and most accurate source, God’s Word, and prepare our hearts for His coming!
Lord God, we praise You for the wonder of Christmas. Prepare our hearts for this beautiful season of Hope that is coming. May Your Word and all the sights, sounds, and even movies of Christmas draw our hearts closer to understanding the true meaning of Christmas, which is JESUS. In His name we pray. Amen.
~ painting by Leah Holland
