You bust into the house, running from the bitter cold. Your senses are overloaded with wonderful sensations. The smell of grandma’s secret recipe fills the kitchen. The air is warm, unlike the harsh environment you just escaped. The sound of clanging pots and pans ring in your ear along with the pitter-patter of feet running through the house. There is some chatter in the back room of which you can only catch a word or two. The two uncles are inevitably fighting about something.

It is Thanksgiving and you know within a few hours you’ll be as stuffed as the turkey you see sitting on the counter.

Grandma gives you a hug and a kiss on the cheek and goes on to tell you all about how she is trying a new recipe this year and how she isn’t wasting a bit of the turkey. That the turkey made it into the gravy and the stuffing.

You don’t normally like turkey, rarely even think about it as a dinner option, but on Thanksgiving and occasionally Christmas, it feels like the right thing to eat.

Grandpa walks in and throws his arm around your shoulder and is asking you about how you’ve been doing. He proceeds to tell you about how he raised Jerry, apparently the turkey’s name, from a chick, and that it’ll be an extra special dinner because he was loved and fed the best food money could buy.

“That’s a $200 turkey there. Can’t buy one like that in the store. He’s perfect. No garbage GMO or any of that filler crap the big guys raise them on. He’s pure turkey.”

Grandpa did always have a way with words. You don’t talk to your grandparents or any of your extended family that much, but at Thanksgiving even if just for a few hours you feel like family. The family is far from perfect, but it’s your family, and today you are grateful for them.

You reach out to dip your finger into the pumpkin pie, your favorite, and grandma slaps your hand and chases you out of the kitchen.

“No dessert until you eat dinner. You’ve got to have the good stuff first.”

Other kids have grandma’s that spoiled them, not yours. She always wanted what was best for you.

This scene will be played out in some form or fashion across our nation this week. As we sit down and have our Thanksgiving Turkey I wanted to take a moment and remember our God and show how He is very much like a Thanksgiving Day Turkey.

1. He was sacrificed for us

Just like the turkey in the story, Jerry, Jesus was raised pure, perfect, and unblemished to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

 

How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
– Hebrews 9:14

 

Without Jesus there wouldn’t be forgiveness, just like without Jerry it there wouldn’t be a Thanksgiving Day dinner.

 

 

2. Forgotten Often

Although many of us don’t think about our God and the sacrifice Jesus made as often as we should, we should remember the amazing sacrifice God had Jesus made for us. We get busy living life and often lose sight of the amazing gift we have right in front of us every day.

 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”
– John 3:16-17 (ESV)

 

Just like we don’t often think about having turkey for dinner too often we don’t remember what Christ has done for us.

 

3. He Reminds Us to Be Thankful

It is mind-blowing to think that we are sinners who have done said, done, and performed some terrible actions that not only hurt ourselves and others but are also sins against God. Like rebelling against our parents, we look back and wonder how anyone could forgive our terrible deeds. How can I face God, the ultimate judge of the universe and tell Him that I deserve death?

 

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
– 1 Timothy 2:5 (ESV)

What a blessing to know that Jesus will stand between us and God. He will take the blame and already has taken the blame for what we’ve done wrong so we could be in right relationship with God. What a reason to be thankful. Just like the Thanksgiving Turkey reminds us to be thankful so too should Jesus and the cross remind us to be thankful.

4. He Has Multiple Forms

The Thanksgiving Day Turkey was divided up into different parts of the meal. He’d make it into the gravy, the stuffing, and of course the main dish itself. Who can forget about the leftover turkey sandwiches, yum! Whatever form we’d need him for in the moment, grandma makes sure the turkey provides for. God in the same way takes different forms. He is very obviously God, the creator, judge, ruler of the universe, and Father, but He sent a part of Himself down to Earth to be our savior in the man Jesus, the son. He also gave us His Holy Spirit to be with us always.

When the Helper comes, whom I [Jesus] will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me
– John 15:26

 

Just like the turkey takes more than one form to meet our needs so too does God have a trinity to save us and meet our needs.

 

5. Dessert Isn’t First

As much as we all mainly want to eat pie at Thanksgiving, we’ve got to eat more than just that. We love the thought of the creamy pumpkin pie or crunchy pie crust, but the truth is we need substance. We also love to think about heaven and how great it’ll be to not go to that other place, but the reality is God desires more for us than just going to heaven. He wants us to mature, to eat more than just sweet milk. He is calling us to change and learn right from wrong, good from evil.

 

13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.
– Hebrews 5:13

 

Just like we can’t skip right to the deserts we can’t skip right to heaven. We must endure the maturing process God has prepared for us to get us ready to be the spotless bride for Christ.

This holiday season be sure to remember that God is Like a Thanksgiving Day Turkey. He was the sacrifice for us, we don’t think about Him enough, He should remind us to be thankful, He takes multiple forms, and He is the meat that will help us mature so we can make it to heaven.

Thank God for His plan, His son Jesus, and the Helper they sent, the Holy Spirit. Happy Thanksgiving.