The Heart of Thanksgiving

I remember a Thanksgiving season a few years ago with a different kind of Turkey! I spent sixteen days in the countries of Turkey and Croatia. The trip was designed to provide first-hand exposure to an enormous group of unreached people, to study at some of the biblical sites, and for some of us to spend time with missionaries our church supports in Croatia.

Overall the trip was very beneficial. Turkey is a land with approximately 75 million people and about 2,500 Christians. One worker compared the scene to ours by asking me how it would be if the number of people in our church was the entire Christians population of metro Atlanta! That thought was painfully sobering.

Some of the biblical sites we visited were Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Collosae. The geographical backdrop helped us more clearly understand the message of the New Testament.

The time spent in Croatia was eye-opening as well as encouraging. Croatia was part of the former communist Yugoslavia. Until just thirteen years ago the fight for freedom was happening on their soil. The missionary team is seeking to plant a church as well as train others to plant churches throughout the country.

As nice as the trip was, it was also challenging. In our country we are spoiled out of our minds. If you doubt me at all, I would recommend a visit to a non-Western nation! Actually, in terms of ease of living, we even have a higher standard of living than most of the other Western countries of the world.

I became very thankful for many ordinary things of life. For example, did you know that there is virtually no pork in the strongly Muslim nation of Turkey? It is easy to forget all of the ways pork is part of our diets. Even if you are not a fan of pork, it’s nice to have access to ham, bacon, and sausage.

In most of Turkey, there are no large super stores. All of your groceries, hardware, and household needs have to be met in very small stores and open markets. Istanbul has more than 12 million people, so it had more stores available, but it still fell far short of suburban America.

Little things made me long for Georgia—like the need for a good pizza, not being able to communicate with those around me, and having to pay to use public restrooms! I also yearned to be with my wife and children. I was also reminded of the blessings of my church family as I was separated from most all of them. Certainly time outside of the country makes you thankful for the great blessings we enjoy every day. This Thanksgiving we should have no problem giving thanks to God!

But these things are almost trivial as compared to the even more important matters for which we have to be thankful. If you are a Christian, you should be profoundly grateful to God for his mercy in putting you in a right relationship with Him.

The Bible says, “in everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Since every good thing in all of life is a direct gift from him (see James 1:17), we must acknowledge that by thanking Almighty God for everything we enjoy.

But instead of travelling overseas, suppose I had gone for an exposure trip to hell. For 16 days I was not only separated from my precious wife, kids, and church family, but I was also separated from God. Actually, in hell God is present, but only in his wrath and just judgement. He does not manifest one sliver of the mercy and grace we so often take for granted.

Such a trip would put Thanksgiving Day in vivid perspective. Yes, we should acknowledge God’s goodness in everything, but Oh how thankful we should be that he poured his wrath (that we deserve!) upon his own dear Son. We do not merit such a gift.

If it were not for our sinful flesh, I would confidently assert that just 1 minute in hell would overwhelm us with gratitude for a lifetime. Even if we did visit hell, however, our flesh would begin at once try to make us forget what we experienced. We would slowly forget what it felt like to be away from God’s grace, away from God’s people, and to be in conscious torment.

For this reason, we must regularly remind ourselves of these realities. The Gospel is not just for nonChristians. Christians need to fill their minds daily with the wonderful truths of God’s holiness, their own sinfulness, the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection, and the repentance and faith that God granted to us to save us.

These truths should fill us with wonder and awe. They should stir up our faith and love for the Lord. They should flood us with thanksgiving. And they will motivate us to continue going and growing in the Christian walk! Everyday should be Thanksgiving for Christians—except for all of those extra desserts!