What if I Had Never Been Born?

Everybody knows, and most people love, the 1946 Frank Capra film It’s a Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart plays George Bailey, a young family man who owns a Building and Loan Company in his small town of Bedford Falls. Bailey is an admirable guy, but circumstances in his life begin to implode. He reaches a point of despair and cries out that he wishes he had never been born.

The movie shows exactly what life would have been like without him. The ripple effects of his life, no longer touching so many others for good, are played out in stark detail. At the end of the film George prays to have his life back because he now knows it is a wonderful life.

So the movie asks and answers the question, what if I had never been born?

The other day in prayer I thought of George Bailey and started meditating on a slight variation of that question: what if I had never been born again?

I tried to envision what might life would have been like without Christ. I became a Christian at age 15. Now, over 45 years later, God helped me catch a glimpse of what these decades might have been like without Jesus.

I would not have been forgiven. I would be guilty before God, under His wrath.

"Unforgiven" produces "unforgiving", and I would have been a grudge-holding, revenge-seeking, unloving and bitter man.

I would be headed for hell.

My worst weaknesses and fears would have been largely unchecked, allowed to grow into ugly proportions. The consequences of my sins and failures would be unredeemed, and the damage done to those close to me and to my own life would have been horrific.

I would not know peace – peace with God, peace with others, or peace in my heart.

These basic realities of life without Christ were what first came to mind. But then I thought of the ripple effects in every other part of my life if Jesus were removed from the equation.

I would not have married Dionne. Our blessed life together would never have happened.

I would not have Andy or Zach, my beloved sons. And I wouldn't have Cheryl or April, their wives, in my life.

And then my seven grandchildren – gone.

Clearly I would not have the Bible as the lamp for my feet and the light for my path. I wouldn't be a pastor or a church planter.

The people I've loved and helped, and who have loved and helped me – none of them would be part of my life.

It was overwhelming to see the truth of all this. My wonderful life is not because I have had such a positive impact on others, but because Jesus has meant everything to me. His presence in my past, present, and for all my days ahead, has been the source of every blessing, every gift, every friendship and love and joy and contentment.

So here’s a suggestion: if you're a Christian, sit quietly before the Lord sometime soon, and ask this variation of the George Bailey question: what if I had never been born again?

And if you’re reading this and haven’t yet trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, maybe you should ask a different question: what will the rest of my life, and my eternity, look like without Christ?