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In the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” James Stewart portrays George Bailey, a man who lived his life sacrificing for others. One desperate Christmas Eve, he is contemplating suicide. An angel (Clarence) appears and shows him what the world would have been like without the good that resulted from his life. His gloom turns to gratitude and his life is saved.
CC Image courtesy of Tom Margie on Flickr
In a similar way let’s consider what the world would be like if Jesus had never been born.
Mel Trotter (1870-1940) was an abusive alcoholic who swore he wouldn’t drink again after finding his only child dead one day. Yet two hours later he was drunk again. He even sold his shoes to buy a drink.
Believing he was responsible for the death, he decided to end his life.
Drunk, broke and shoeless in the snow, he heard about the love of Jesus for sinners at The Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. He became a Christian there, gave up alcohol and went on to lead a rescue mission himself. Subsequently, he helped start 67 more missions. Jesus Christ has transformed thousands of alcoholics on skid row through his ministry.
Take away Jesus and you have the suicide of a miserable drunk.With Jesus you have a transformed life that helped multitudes!
A few years ago D. James Kennedy and Jerry Newcombe wrote a book titled What if Jesus Had Never Been Born. It is a tremendous volume and the foundation for this blog.
Here are 6 amazing changes that have occurred because of Jesus Christ and would not if Jesus had never been born:
1. The Poor have Hope
Prior to Christ, organized charity was virtually nonexistent.
But in Matthew 25:37-40, Jesus taught that when we help the poor we are serving Christ Himself. Thus, charitable organizations such as the following came as a result of obedience to Christ’s teaching:
The Salvation Army
The Red Cross
YMCA & YWCA
World Vision
Samaritan’s Purse
Food for the Hungry
Compassion International
If Jesus had never been born, the poor would be far worse off. Also, there is a good chance many more would be poor as we will see in the point 5 below.
2. Education is Available for the Masses
Prior to Christ, only the wealthy were educated. But Scripture teaches us to study and learn: see 2 Timothy 2:15 for example.
In the early 1900’s illiteracy was rampant in pagan nations, while Protestant countries had a vastly higher rate of literacy.
Almost every one of the first 123 colleges and universities in the US has Christian origins. This includes Ivy League schools such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and so on. Christians started universities mostly to train Christian ministers.
Around the world, Christian missionaries were and still are the ones who take languages that are only spoken and turn them into written languages. They do this to share the Bible and the message of Christ.
Take away Jesus and you have a world with far less knowledge and education.
3.Human Life is Valued
Jesus taught that children should be welcomed and blessed. See Matthew 19:13-15.
In ancient Rome, children were the property of their fathers and they could:
Sell them
Divorce them
Abandon them to die
Many Christians found these abandoned babies and raised them. Christian orphanages were founded to care for children.
In a similar way because of Christ other “worthless” lives have been valued:
Slaves (abolitionist movements were typically led by Christians)
The elderly, who were often abandoned
Gladiators, who were killed for sport
Women, who were treated like simply a possession
Without Jesus, there is a good chance that you and I would be
Abandoned at birth
A slave
Living in desperate poverty and hunger
Killed for sport or pleasure
4.The United States Exists
Former Governor and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Earl Warren said in 1954:
“I believe no one can read the history of our country without realizing that the Good Book and the spirit of the Savior have from the beginning been our guiding geniuses… Whether we look to the first Charter of Virginia … or to the Charter of New England… or to the Charter of Massachusetts Bay… or to the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut… the same objective is present; a Christian land governed by Christian perspectives.”
If Jesus had not been born, the United States might not have been born.
5.Prosperity Has Flourished
Third world countries have belief systems rooted in superstition and false religions that devalue initiative and have led to impoverished conditions.
Christianity teaches, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10b)
John Chamberlain wrote in The Roots of Capitalism, “Christianity tends to create a capitalistic mode of life whenever siege conditions do not prevail.”
Take away Jesus and you take away the prosperity that so much of the world enjoys.
6.Lives are Dramatically Changed
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
There are multiplied thousands of life stories like Mel Trotter’s story cited at the beginning of this article. Click HERE to watch or HERE to read more stories of lives changed by Jesus.
Am I suggesting that Christians are always perfect followers of Christ? Heavens no. Jesus doesn’t make our behavior perfect, but He does make it a lot better than it would be without Him in our lives.
Furthermore, if you belong to Christ, you have an incredible eternal inheritance that you would not have if He had not been born. For example:
If you are not sure you have forgiveness from your sins and eternal life, please let me show you how to HERE.
I have only touched briefly on the incredible impact of Christ. For over 200 pages of information and documentation, see the wonderful book What if Jesus Had Never Been Born. It also covers the impact of Jesus on
civil liberties
science
the family
health and medicine
morality
arts and music
Christ has astoundingly impacted our world! Thank God Jesus was born.
If you liked this article, you might also like this article about Christ’s resurrection: Four Powerful Proof Jesus Lives