10 Turkeys But Little Thanksgiving

by Filip Brunner

Once upon a time, there was a man who went to the local butcher to purchase a turkey. The butcher had ten turkeys in his yard that were merely milling about totally oblivious to what was about to take place. The man wanted to see the turkeys in order to see how many would go home with him for Thanksgiving. Each turkey walked before him and he asked each one a question. “Do you want to live?” “What a strange question to ask.” the butcher thought to himself.

But consider this; the New Testament speaks of 10 men who had a disease that would eventually kill them. This is where Jesus comes in. He is the man walking by asking do you want to live.

“And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?” Luke 17:11-17.

There is more to this story then if all 10 men were thankful for what Jesus has done for them. It is a story that speaks to us today about salvation because in a lot of ways we are like the turkeys at the butcher shop. In the end sin kills; “The wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23a.

Turkeys cannot talk, we can but the result is the same. Jesus offers eternal life but so many, instead of being thankful and taking Him up on His offer of taking our place in death that we might as well be a bunch of ignorant turkeys. “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Romans 6:23b.

How will the man pay for the turkey without money? Well, for the turkeys which take him on his offer he will lay down his life for theirs. This is exactly what Jesus did for us on the cross and God the Father was pleased with the

sacrifice. “no one comes to the Father but by me.”

Our, life, our healing, and our eternity all rest in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Jesus took the stripes for us so the leper can be cleansed and the sinner can taste salvation. This Thanksgiving the turkey may well end up on our table but our thankfulness needs to go to Jesus, the founder of the feast.

If you are lost, come to Jesus. There is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.

About The Author Filip Brunner is married to his wife, Dr. Kim Brunner and together they have six children. He is a writer, author, and artist.