Monday, December 23, 2013

Life Without Me!

Have you ever given any thought as to how this world would be without you? Yes, that's a crazy thought and who would think such a thing, right? Maybe some self-righteous individual? Maybe someone who is very insecure? Maybe just a plain ole Joe or Jane! How different would the life you've built be if you had never existed?

We can start with your very beginning. You would never have brought a bundle of joy to your mom and dad or to the family as a whole. If you had siblings, then they wouldn't have had an older or younger sibling and in some cases a twin. Maybe they wouldn't have had anyone to push around, look up to or praise. What about the friends you've made since you've been alive? There might be some decisions you helped them with that changed them for the good. If you were a naughty child, then the influences you had on those friends would have been avoided. How about all the lives you touched through your generosity, kindness, compassion and thoughtfulness? Just think how void their lives would have been.

In the movie “It's a Wonderful Life” there is a movie line that brings significance to this article. Clarence says this to George: “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? Whether we know it or not our lives impact many people around us. In fact the ripple effect of one person's life is impossible to measure. There is no way to fully know the effect your life has on this world.

Since you are here and you are effecting lives, just how are you doing that? Only you can answer that question unless those that are being effected are willing to step up and tell you themselves. We all hope and pray our effects are positive, encouraging, and uplifting. If this be the case, then we want them to be long lasting as well. If they are just the opposite of what was listed, then we hope and pray they are short lived.

Let's take a brief look at the lives of Peter and Paul for example. We know that it was Peter that identified Jesus as the Christ, God's Son. It was Peter that Jesus gave the keys of heaven (Matt. 16:16-19). Would we even know that Jesus was the Christ if Peter had not spoke up and said so? Possibly! Possibly not! Jesus also gave the Great Commission to all the disciples and to us, but it was Peter who led the rest of the apostles when that first great sermon was preached at Pentecost in A.D. 33 (Acts 2) as to how we are to be saved. It was Paul who also spoke and explained the gospel in 1 Cor. 15:1-4. Surely we read of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ in the gospel accounts, but would we identify those events as being the gospel if it were not for Paul? We can see how significant their lives were and are to us today. We could list milestone after milestone about their lives and realize how void this world would be without either of them. They are not the only ones for sure!

We all know of individuals that have made major contributions to mankind and more personally to our own lives that could be mentioned and maybe even praised for their accomplishments. We know that Jesus did not look for praise from men but He deserves all the praise mankind can give because of what He did for all of us. This morning we are going to not only talk about how wonderful life is, but how less wonderful it would be if we never heard of the man called Jesus. Talk about a great void that would be felt since we know all that He has done and is still doing for His fellow man.

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