DECEMBER 2025 - DEVOTION
THE GREATEST GIFT
“The gift of God” John 4:10
TODAY IS THANKSGIVING
As I type these words, it is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Thanksgiving Day has a long history. Though there was a Thanksgiving celebration in 1619 at Berkeley Hundred in Virginia, the modern holiday traces its roots to a three-day harvest feast celebrated by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe in 1621. Over the next two centuries, these celebrations were sporadic and state-level. In 1789, President George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving proclamation. In 1863, President Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving to be held annually on the last Thursday of November, later standardized as the fourth Thursday in November in 1941.
BUT IT’S DECEMBER
However, if you are reading this when it’s first posted, you might wonder why I am writing about Thanksgiving Day when it’s December. My initial response is that a child of God should treat every day as a day of Thanksgiving. We should begin each day with thanks proceeding from our mouths, and gratefulness filling our hearts. There are a couple of other reasons, including:
- God’s abundance in your life – Consider your life and all God has blessed you with.
- God’s presence in your life – Where would you be if God had not rescued you from your sin?
THE ULTIMATE GIFT
And while it’s true, Thanksgiving Day is not officially marked in December, if there is any month in the year we should emphasis giving thanks to God, it is the month where most of us mark the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger in Bethlehem, fulfilling God’s promises through His prophets to send a savior to redeem all who would receive Him. This gift of God is more valuable than any other gift could be. There is nothing that could be wrapped and placed under a lighted tree to even compare with it. So remember, as you hopefully gather with people you love during this season, feast on delicious food, and unwrap presents, the greatest gift is not under that tree. God provided it on another tree, the tree of Calvary, where Jesus shed His blood to give the gift of salvation. Truth is, Christmas as Thanksgiving could not be more appropriate.
