During the Thanksgiving season, some people take time to reflect on their lives and point out the things they are thankful for. You might hear, "I’m thankful for my job," or "my health," or "my family." "I’m thankful to live in a free country." "I’m thankful for my new car/house/boat." Yes, as Americans we all have many things to be thankful for. There are many countries that don’t have our freedoms. Freedoms to live how and where we want, work in a nice environment, worship the way we choose, vote for our leaders. Yes, we do have many reasons to be thankful.

Some people have more to be thankful for than others do. Some may have nice cars, big houses, and cushy jobs; while others live in slums, walk to the store, and work in factories. But there is one thing that every person living on earth – in America or a foreign country – can possess and be thankful for. That is the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ.

About 2,000 years ago, God the Father sent to earth His only and precious Son, Jesus, in order to die for our sins. You see, man is sinful. Rom. 3:23 states that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." All means all. Every man is a sinner. At some point in your life and mine, we have told a lie, cheated, stole, disobeyed, or committed some other sin. Rom. 3:10 says that "There is none righteous, no, not one." No one has done anything good enough to be able to work their way to Heaven.

Because of our sin, we deserve death. Not just a physical death, but a spiritual death which forever separates us from God. Rom. 6:23 tells us that we have earned just that. "For the wages (payment) of sin is death…" Yes, that is our punishment for sin, and we justly deserve it. And with this punishment comes an eternity in a real place called Hell (Rev. 19:15). But, praise the Lord the verse doesn’t end there! It goes on to say "the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." God’s gift to us is eternal life! A life with Him in Heaven that will never end!

You see, God has provided a way for us to receive this gift and be forgiven of our sins. 2 Cor. 5:21 says "he hath made him to be sin for us…" This tells us that God placed upon Christ the penalty for our sin. This same verse also tells us that Christ was sinless – "…who knew no sin…" It took One without sin to take our place so that we can have a right standing before God. The Bible further explains this for us by telling us that Christ died on the Cross for our sins, then rose again the third day giving us victory over death and Hell (Jn. 20:1-18, Mt. 28:1-7). All we have to do is admit that we are a sinner, repent of our sins, and ask Christ to forgive us and become our Saviour. Once we have done this, we have received eternal life! It’s that simple! And it’s free! As a matter of fact, we cannot earn it. Eph. 2:8-9 says that we are saved by grace, through faith and by nothing that we can do ourselves. Faith in the shed blood of Christ on Calvary and repentance for our sins (Luke 13:3, 5) is what we need for our salvation.

Now you have seen what this gift is that I spoke of earlier. Once you have Christ in your heart, you are a changed person (2 Cor. 5:17) and life has a new meaning for you. You find that the best thing you have to be thankful for is salvation from an eternity in Hell!