Read: Acts 7:54-60; Acts 22:20; Acts 9:1-2
Now that it is December, I'll start watching to see when it will be televised. Yes, even though I know many of the lines, I still really enjoy watching IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.
Okay, I admit it. When George and Mary are dancing and the jealous boy pushes the button that opens the floor up, causing them to end up in the swimming pool, I laugh. They simply end up dancing in the water. Seriously, doesn't that look fun? However, my favorite part of the movie is still the ending. It is that one line when George Bailey's brother who is a war hero who has had many successes tells George that he is the one who has really had a wonderful life. I generally shed a few tears at that point. But wait. As I thought about this classic movie this year, my mind followed a different trail. I thought about Mr. Potter, and a question popped into my head.
Why don't we know what happen to Mr. Potter. Most remember, at least those who have seen the movie, that Mr. Potter is the villain throughout the movie, and he is the one who is a thorn in the Bailey family's side throughout the story. George even gets in trouble with the law because of Mr. Potter. I won't give away everything, but we don't know what happens to Mr. Potter when the movie ends.
For example:
Did the man change his ways later on in life?
Did he admit his wrongs?
Was there a reason he was so nasty?
Was he ever punished for the bad things he did?
The answers to these questions don't exist since the story's author chose for them not to be a part of the plot, but don't we want to know the answers to such questions in real life? Don't we wonder about people and their motives and whether or not they will ever be judged for their acts? Don't we wonder if it is even possible for some people we hear about or encounter to change, or if they do, then what?
The problem is that when we look at a "Mr. Potter" kind of life, we only see it through a very narrow lens, and there is much we don't know. Let's walk that truth out by taking a glimpse at the life of a man named Saul. Can we pretend, as we do this, that we don't know his entire story? Only the scriptures noted above. Verses found in the very last part of Acts 7 and the earliest part of Acts 9.
Enter Saul. It is here that we read that he was a man on a mission, and it wasn't a good mission. His desire was to harm and arrest and punish people who believed in and served Jesus. He happily agreed with those who stoned Stephen, having stood guard over their cloaks while he was being martyred, Acts 22:20. He is described in Acts 9 as a man who was going after Christians like an animal on the rampage. He was convinced he should oppose all who believed in Jesus, Acts 22:9-11. Roll credits.
What would we have thought? Would we have held out any possibility that this man would stop his rampages against believers? Would we have ever dreamed that he might one day himself be beaten and rejected because of his belief in Messiah? I don't think I would have held out much hope that such changes would occur. I might have simply prayed that the Lord would stop him from doing more harm. Since only the very limited narrow lens would have been available to me, I would have missed the truth that the Lord knew. Saul was being pursued by Jesus Who was making it hard for him not to believe, Acts 22:14. God was doing His unseen work that could have only been detected if we could have peered through His wide-angle lens.
When Acts 7 ended, those who loved Stephen mourned his passing. Did they wonder who would speak with zeal about Jesus the way Stephen so fearlessly did? Of course, because we know the rest of Saul's story, it is easy for us. We would tell the people of that day to simply hold on. Saul would do a 180, and God's grace would be poured out through his life in a way they could not possibly fathom, 1 Timothy 1:12-16. The evil things Saul did, after being forgiven and cleansed by the Lord, would be a picture of God's amazing grace and redemption. Truth that was known ahead of time, but only by God. He is the One Whose fingerprints are everywhere in Saul's story as well as myriads of stories in the lives of people all around us.
This God knows men's motives and will judge equitably, Proverbs 21:2; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Acts 17:31; Psalm 96:10. That means that He alone knows how we have spent the wonderful lives He has given us, and our stories are still being written. No wonder the psalmist tells us to ask God to teach us to number our days, Psalm 90:12. The most wonderful thing Jesus might do in and through us could be part of our futures. After all, look at Saul. Although it once appeared that only Stephen had lived a wonderful life for Jesus, there ended up being one additional wonderful life in Stephen's story. Do Stephen and Paul now regularly talk and walk together. Two wonderful displays of God's grace.
Both men praising God for all He has done for them.
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