Influencers Weekly Devotional

What if Jesus Had Never Been Born?

By

Bryan Craig

    “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has        dawned.”  Isaiah 9:2 Christmas would just not be complete without nestling in for a few hours and watching, “It’s a Wonderful Life”.  Oh, how I love to go to Bedford Falls each year and spend some time with George Bailey.  I haven’t quite been able to convert my wife and kids fully to this Christmas tradition, but I won’t give up.  Someday, they will appreciate this timeless story which challenges us all to take a serious look at our lives, as we contemplate the question, “What would the world look like if we had never been born?”  We have all felt like George Bailey, desperate, depressed and hopeless, listening to the lies of the enemy who would tell us our life has amounted to nothing.  If we turn to God, like George Bailey did, He will show us our worth. You are special!  You are!  No matter the mistakes you may have made or the sins you have committed, God created you and you have great purpose.  You are somebody’s son or daughter, you are a father or a mother, you are a friend, you are an employee or a boss, you are a neighbor, you are part of a community.  You may not realize how many lives you touch.  If you were not here, there would be a huge void in the world and in God’s plans…after all: “From one man, He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”Acts 17:26-27 He created you on purpose!  A BIG part of our purpose is to walk with God.  He created us for Himself, to commune with Him.  This is why He sent Jesus to be with us and then to die, so He could leave His Spirit with us forever. Maybe a better question to ponder this Christmas is this, “What if Jesus had never been born?”  What if there were NO Son of God, NO Wonderful Counselor, NO Mighty God, NO Everlasting Father, NO Prince of Peace, NO One to reign on David’s throne, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness forever.  What if we did not have a Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world? All I can think of is the darkness Paul talks about in Romans 1: “God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator…They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.  They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.  They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.”  Romans 1:24-25, 29-31 In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Paul elaborates: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.  Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God……AND THAT IS WHAT SOME OF YOU WERE.” If Christ had never been born, we would have no hope.  We could not inherit the kingdom of God.  We would be destined for Hell, without a Savior. BUT, GOD LOVED US SO MUCH HE GAVE HIS ONE AND ONLY SON THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE! Yes, no one was born with greater purpose than Jesus!  The salvation of all mankind rested upon his shoulders.  We were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God! (1 Corinthians 6:11) Let this truth sink into your spirit, especially at Christmastime.  If it does, you will be like George Bailey, running through Bedford Falls, wishing “Merry Christmas” to everyone he greets, even Mr. Potter.  You will find reason to truly celebrate this Savior’s birth. “But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in Its wings.  And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” Malachi 4:2 Merry Christmas!