It's a Wonderful Life

The other night, I was watching with my wife the timeless classic It's a Wonderful Life.  Aside from the obvious theological difficulties (among other things, Clarence the angel claims to have been a man on earth before becoming an angel), the movie is a fantastic demonstration of the enormity of the power of man to effect change in history.  For those who have not seen the movie (which is hard to imagine), a brief rundown is available at IMDB.

What interests me, as I have already said, is that the movie shows the power of the choices of mankind.  The "alternate reality" where George Bailey does not exist is practically the same as a world in which George Bailey has not made any choices.  We see that if George Bailey had never made choices, he would not have chosen to save his brother from drowning under the ice, and a whole platoon of men would be dead in the future.  If George Bailey hadn't corrected an errant, confused pharmacist, an innocent life would have been taken and another brought to irrevocable ruin at the hands of a mistake.  If George Bailey hadn't made the sacrifice of remaining in Bedford Falls to take over his father's noble work, the whole town would have spiraled into the destruction of despair and the resulting sins of self-indulgence sought to numb the heart and mind of the pain of this life.  If George Bailey hadn't courted his lovely wife, she would have died an old maid.  So we see that the good of individuals and societies, the fulfillment of vocations, even the gifts of God spread through the goodness of men cooperating with His will...all these things hinge on the choices of man.  For good or evil, God gave man the faculty of the will, to choose.


Imagine for a moment how the world might have been changed had better decisions been made: if our first parents had not pridefully disobeyed God, if the people of Noah's time or the inhabitants of Sodom or all the citizens of Ur had followed God's will, if Paris of Troy had controlled his passions, if Pontius Pilate had defended Christ, if the descendants of Charlemagne had not fought over his lands, if Europeans had not enslaved whole nations, if the United States had not abandoned natural law, if each man and woman would do as God instructs.  Imagine for a moment what life would be like.

There are many natural disasters of which we are rightly afraid.  Tornadoes, fires, earthquakes.  Hurricane Katrina made millions believe that an entire city had been drowned.  Yet as devastating as these things are, a simple sin is infinitely worse.  A sin is an act of the will; no natural disaster chooses to kill, but when I sin, I chose to disobey God, and thereby dishonor Him and mar the character and grace He has given me.

One more example of choice lays before us: the Word of God chose, in His great mercy toward man and obedience to God the Father, to become man.  The immutable God chose to step into this very fluid, ever-changing history.  God, who is beyond us, chose to be God-with-us, Emmanuel, so that we might choose to be with Him, and in so choosing, effect change for the better throughout the world.  We have the power not to choose, we have the power to choose evil, and we also have the power to choose good.  Let us welcome Emmanuel this Christmas; let us choose to do good.  Let us choose to build up the Kingdom of God.

His Servant and Yours,

Micah