During the holidays, my husband and I love to have Christmas movie marathons and 2010 was no exception. We pulled out all the classics as well as a few new additions for quite the entertainment lineup! There is one movie we both particularly look forward to every year though—It’s a Wonderful Life.
It’s a Wonderful Life is a classic tale of a man whose life is less than ideal in comparison to the dreams he had hoped to realize. Despite committing his life to helping less fortunate people, he suffers hit after hit of disappointment until he finally reaches his breaking point on Christmas Eve. An angel from Heaven is sent to save his life and put him back on track. Through it all he realizes that his faith, wife, children, family, and friends are what life is all about – they are what is important. Money, dreams, and travels are not what mattered; it is the loved ones around him that make it a wonderful life.
Every time I watch this movie, I too am reminded of what is truly important. It is easy to get caught up in unrealized dreams, what-ifs, and the desire for more. We are inundated with messages screaming that we need more, something better than what we already have, to find true happiness. Yet, despite product guarantees, the happy flutters fizzle, and we are left once again with the longing for more … for better.
There are several problems with this scenario. First of all, there is no product, package, place, or thing that can ever bring us fulfillment. Material things break, go out-of-style, and leave us wanting more. Plus, there is always some new gadget or item that is bigger and better than the last, perpetuating the same vicious cycle. Happiness is an emotion, and emotions are fleeting feelings that come and go quickly and easily. Emotions are fickle, so banking on them to be constant is the surest way to be anything but happy.
Fulfillment and joy are not attainable through that fancy shirt, pretty necklace, or fully loaded car. No one knew that more than King Solomon, the richest and wisest king of all the earth (1 Kings 10:23). He had everything a man could possibly want and then some, and yet he found that riches are meaningless (Ecclesiastes 5). God cautions us that material items and money will not lead to happiness throughout the Bible. True joy and satisfaction in life do not come in a shiny package or with a price tag.
In John 10:10 Jesus tells us, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” God wants us to have an abundant, joy-filled life with purpose and fulfillment. Part of that is serving Him and knowing who we are in Him. “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4-5). Jesus — His sacrifice and unconditional love are the gifts we celebrate at Christmas. Christmas is one day though, and that spirit of Christmas should be one we carry with us the remaining 364 days of the year. The anchoring source of delight in life is the fact that we were chosen before time, loved when unlovable, forgiven when still sinners, and then bought with the ultimate price – the life and blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for us.
God is all about relationships. He wants to be in relationship with you, and He wants you to be in relationship with others. Our loved ones are a special gift we get to enjoy daily. Sometimes the people who mean the most to us end up getting what’s left of us, rather than our best, because of our never-ending search for happiness and pleasure in this world. Obviously goals and aspirations are an important aspect to living, but they often get in the way of the quality time we spend with our family and friends.
Family and friends are gifts from above. They are the part of life that provides laughter, enjoyment, companionship, and love. God gave us marriage as a tangible means of experiencing a glimpse of the love He has for us. Experiencing a commitment from someone who will choose to love, protect, and cherish you for the rest of your life, come what may, is one of the greatest treasures this world can offer. We can get caught up in the inadequacies and failures of a spouse (or family and friends for that matter), but the real accomplishment is looking past all of that to see the heart of that person and the immeasurable value of their life.
Our spouse, significant other, fiancé, friends, and family are what make our life journeys enjoyable. Christ calls us to “…love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). This is so that the world can identify us as Christians, but I also believe it is because God knows the significance and power of love. Love, in the form of a verb rather than the superficial emotion often associated with it, overcomes and provides so much for its giver and recipient. Love is medicinal, wonderful, enriching, and a blessing to all fortunate enough to identify, receive, relish, and deliver it. These are the things that make us realize it’s a wonderful life.
