Why do we observe Thanksgiving? Is it just a quaint holiday from our heritage that is now the official kick-off to the Christmas buying season? Or should we see it as a special time to reflect on how we’ve been blessed?
No matter how difficult life gets, everyone has something for which to be thankful. While it is a good thing to be thankful, it is more important to recognize to whom we are indebted for the blessings we have.
The Bible says, "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights" (James 1:17). Our Creator is the One from whom all blessings flow.
The greatest blessing we have is the promise of eternal life. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
Many doubt there is a Creator-God who loves the world since so many bad things happen. But the Bible explains that this is because of mankind’s own sin. The concept of sin is not politically correct in our day but deep inside, all people know (Romans 2:14-15) that this is disobedience to God and is what keeps them from eternal life.
The most profound aspect of men and women being created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) is that we have a free will to either accept or reject a relationship with our Creator. But it is mankind’s nature to disobey God by rejecting His Son (1 John 2:3-6), "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Those who go through life rejecting the Savior are condemning themselves (John 3:18) to eternal separation from God in hell (Matthew 10:28, Revelation 21:8), "for the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). But the Good News is that God has made a way for our sins to be forgiven: "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Jesus is the only one who could do this because He is God manifested in the flesh (John 1:1, 14, Philippians 2:5-8).
Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of those who receive Him as their Savior: "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). Jesus has made it possible for us to have an eternal relationship with God Himself!
"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever" (1-Chronicles-16:34).