The greatest gift you’ve ever been given wasn’t bought in a store. No cash exchanged hands. It wasn’t even wrapped. Yet it cost the Giver everything.

The Bible says God sent his Son to earth to give you the greatest gift ever. He came to Earth to die and make you right with God. Romans 3:24–25 says, “Out of sheer generosity God put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin” (The Message).

So why did Jesus have to die? Let’s go back to the basics.

• Nobody’s perfect. I’ve never met a single person who has claimed to be perfect. I don’t measure up to my own expectations, much less God’s perfect standard. Neither do you. We’ve all blown it. The Bible says, “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23 CEV).
• God is just. God wants to be fair. When somebody breaks a law, there must be a penalty for it. When you break man’s laws, you pay man’s penalty. When you break God’s laws, you pay God’s penalties. The Bible says, “The payment for sin is death” (Romans 6:23 CEV).
• Jesus paid the price for our sin. The Bible says, “God took the sinless Christ and poured into Him our sins. Then, in exchange, he poured God’s goodness into us” (2 Corinthians 5:21 TLB). Jesus took on my sin and your sin and all the sin that has ever been committed. That’s the good news, the Gospel. Jesus paid the price you could never pay.
• Accept God’s free gift. God gave us a free gift of salvation when Jesus took our sin upon himself. It’s a gift we must receive. The Bible says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12 NIV).

Will you accept God’s free gift of salvation? It’s one thing to understand the basics of how to have a relationship with Jesus. It’s another to accept the gift.

I pray you will make that all-important decision today.

If you are ready to commit your life to Jesus Christ, then pray this prayer:

“Dear Jesus, you have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day.

I confess my sin, and I believe that you are God, my Savior. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Today I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. You have the right to call the shots in my life.

Jesus, I want to receive the great gift of your love. Thank you that I don’t have to earn it or deserve it or work for it. I want to use the rest of my life to serve you rather than serving myself. I humbly commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”