A Thankful Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is upon us. In our family, Thanksgiving is one of the three big holidays; Christmas and Easter are the others. As much of the family as possible gathers for those three holidays. If people cannot attend, Julie and I usually spend another day with them within a week or so of the big celebration. Late November and the month of December, along with several weeks before Easter, are our busiest times of year. Family get-togethers are just one of the things on the schedule. Church events during those times scatter the calendar like a leopard’s spots.

No complaining here. I love seeing everyone. As I get older, the big events may have me looking forward to the mattress at the end of the day more than in years past, but the joy of being with the ones I love far outweighs the aches in the joints.

I encourage everyone to write a list of the things they are thankful for, not just in November but several times a year; here is mine. I will save the most important for last.

I am thankful for my wife, Julie. We have been married for 46 years. She’s not perfect, but she is perfect for me. God knew that, and that is why He put us together. If I had to sum her up, I’d use the words of Proverbs 31:10: ” Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies.”

I am thankful for my children. They are not kids anymore; our youngest turns forty on her next birthday. Like every parent, I have not agreed with everything they have done, but despite that, the love between us has never waned. Again, as the years pass, we need more help than before, and the kids have always answered the call. God has blessed us through the fruit of the womb.

I am thankful for our church family. The people of Countryside are amazing. Sometimes, I have to watch what I say. If I mention a passing thought for something around the church, someone will do it. Their love for each other and anyone who walks through the door is extreme. Their love for me is immeasurable and shows in the little things.

Expressions of love are not always huge and spectacular. Often, love manifests in small, unnecessary ways. We have a meal at Countryside every Sunday. Usually, when I reach the fellowship trailer, my food is waiting for me. Yes, I can get my own plate, but they love me and see this as a tiny way they can make my life easier. It is an act of love.

I am thankful for being born in America. There are nations in this world where people will never hear the gospel, and the only thing on someone’s to-do list is to survive until tomorrow. There are places on this earth where eating is not a daily activity. I find it amazing that we argue about whether or not we should have free health care when, in some parts of the world, any health care is not an option, where getting two pain relievers for a headache is something unheard of. We Americans need to realize how good we have it.

A friend of mine moved here from the Philippines a few years back. We are small-town America. Our town has one grocery store thirty miles from the closest supper Wal-Mart. The produce section of our grocery store could fit into most living rooms. We walked into our local grocery and her eyes lit up like a child on Christmas morning. She ran over to our tiny produce section. “Look at all this food! Are all the stores over here like this? I’ve never seen so many apples and oranges in one place.” Welcome to America.

I am thankful for many other things, but I will end this column with the most important one. It can be summed up with one Bible verse, 2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

God’s gift to us is the blood of His Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Twice, John the Baptist calls Jesus “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29,35-36). Jesus is the Lamb because He is the sacrificial Lamb.

All of us are sinners, and sin can only be removed by a blood sacrifice (Romans 3:10; Hebrews 9:22). The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament could not take away sins. Hebrews 10:4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

A sinless blood sacrifice was needed — step in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb of God. The sacrifice of Jesus is enough to wash away the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). Now, it boils down to faith on the sinner’s part. What are you trusting in for your salvation? The fact that you are religious? That you are a good person? That you were baptized at some point? Or is your faith in the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God (Romans 3:25)?

I am thankful for my salvation. Do you have salvation that you can be thankful for? God has provided the sacrificial Lamb; put your faith in Him.