A Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life, a film about a man named George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart. Decides that everyone would be better off had he never been born; an angel comes and grants George his wish. George Bailey gets a view of what it would have been like had he never been born. He didn't like what he experienced, for he touched many lives. As I was thinking about George Bailey I had this thought, what if Jesus had not been raised from the dead? We all are shocked when a famous person suddenly dies. Nobel Prize winners, Beauty queens, Billionaires, and Presidents all die! Someday it will be our turn. What you and I believe about Jesus is very important. Some believe that when one dies that's the end. Jesus Christ said that those who believe in him will be given eternal life.

John 10:28
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. He told his followers John 11:25
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: If Jesus did rise from the dead after three days as the New Testament claims, then his promise of eternal life after death is credible. The claim of resurrection is vital to Christianity. If Christ has been raised from the dead by God, then He has the credentials and certification that no other religious leader possesses. Buddha is dead. Mohammad is dead. Moses is dead. Confucius is dead. But, according to … Christianity, Christ is alive. But could Jesus' resurrection have been invented by his followers or the early church—or is there evidence?

Jesus told his disciples that he would be betrayed, arrested, and crucified and that he would come back to life three days later. That's a strange plan! What was behind it? Jesus had clearly told his disciples that he would rise again after his death, failure to keep that promise would expose him as a fraud. We must make a decision for this is a fact we can't ignore. Out of the five reasons which do you believe?

1. Jesus didn't really die on the cross. Some have proposed that Jesus lived through the crucifixion and was revived by the cool, damp air in the tomb–"Whoa, how long was I out for?" Let's get real these soldiers knew when someone was dead!
   
2. The "resurrection" was a conspiracy. Remember the Nixon and the Watergate scandal? Twelve of the most powerful men in the world couldn't keep a lie for three weeks. But these disciples even after they were beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison all said they had seen Jesus raised from the dead and proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it.
   
3. The disciples were hallucinating. If that were true don't you think it's is strange that … five hundred people, of average soundness of mind … should experience the same hallucination. 1Co 15:6
   After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once;
   
   
4. The account is legendary. A legend would not adequately explain the fact of the empty tomb.
   
5. It really happened. The way I see it there is too much proof that it did really happen than it didn't.
   

Would we be better off had the resurrection never happened? So what do you think? I think not, and am glad and will rejoice eternally because of the Resurrection. Oh by the way I'm glad I was born and have enjoyed my life and will continue too until God calls me home. I wish I had the time to tell you about heaven but if you know JESUS you know what I am talking about, if you don't, it is not too late. The reason I know is because you have read this.