Day 30: Jesus Christ, the Son of God

This post is part of “30 days of Giving Thanks” To read more within this series, click here.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

~ John‬ ‭1:1-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Jesus has so many names: The Messiah, the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Immanuel, the Word, the Light.

Jesus came into the World to give us life, grace, and truth.

For the last 29 days, I’ve been writing about things I am thankful for. I saved the one of greatest import for last. Why am I thankful for Jesus? I don’t think I could write enough posts to cover that answer completely…

He lived on earth.

Teenagers are so fond of saying to their parents: “You have no idea what I’m going through!” They forget that their parents were, at one time, teenagers who indeed experienced all the frustrating fluctuations of teenagerness. Parents can sympathize to some extent because they were young once too!

Jesus lived as a man. His parents had very little. He had to go through puberty. He had to suffer want. He was rejected, ridiculed, and tempted. He knows what we are going through.

He lived here on His own created earth. I am so glad that I have a God and friend who understand what it’s like to be Human. And he still loves us…

He died a cruel death for us.

I really had no concept of how truly terrible crucifixion was until my dad preached a detailed sermon on the subject. My dad is a registered nurse and a veteran. He understands anatomy and physiology pretty well. I remember cringing at the description of how each breath was torturous, particularly to those nailed spots. The Bible doesn’t really go into depth because when it was written, most people had witnessed a crucifixion—they didn’t need vivid details.

So, why am I thankful for His death?

His death gives me life.He didn’t have to die. He could have snapped His fingers and a whole army of angels would have come down and taken care of business. His death had purpose. He died because only His blood could cover our evils. He died so I could be at peace with God.

He rose from the dead.

Yes, I believe.

He conquered Satan and death.

Jesus’ resurrection is one of the hardest things for people to accept. Most people believe He lived on earth and died, but only the Christian believes in His resurrection. If Jesus had not conquered death, we would have no hope.

But he did conquer death. And we do have hope.

I walk in His light.

This world has many wonders and beauties, but it is a very dark place. Evil abounds, sickness pervades, death comes to all. Jesus gives us life and light. While we struggle through this life in our decaying bodies, Jesus is renewing our souls each day. Without Him, I would be tossed around like a boat with no rudder or sails. With Him, life has purpose and meaning.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and I am thankful for Him. Every day I have abundant life—no matter the circumstances—because I have hope of better things to come. I am not stumbling about in darkness because Jesus lights the way—even if it’s only one inch at a time.

I am so thankful for Jesus. He brings us light and life.

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This post concludes the series “30 days of Giving Thanks.”

I want to thank all of you who have read through these posts. I hope you have been as edified through the reading as I have been through the writing. Take time to give thanks to the Lord everyday for His abundant blessings—Jesus being the greatest blessing of all.

I will not be posting every day in December, but I will be resuming The effective prayer posts and coffee chats and completing a series I began in September.

What was your favorite “Thankful” post?