“The good old days weren’t so good.” That was my grandfather’s response to the impulse to remember the days of old as being better than the present day. Every generation is tempted to allow nostalgia to cover the hardships and brokenness of the past. As a kid, I would listen to the adults talk about how good things used to be and how broken things were becoming. Now I am an adult and often find myself being an enthusiastic participant in similar conversations. 

My grandfather used to say that when he was a child, he carried enough water to float a battleship. He grew up in a home that did not have running water, and one of his regular chores was to bring in water for household use. He would say this to communicate how thankful he was for the modern convenience of in-home running water and to encourage me to be thankful for the goodness and convenience of in-home running water. I often imagined what life must have been like for him growing up with chamber pots and an outhouse. I imagined how uncomfortable it must have been on cold and rainy days and how inconvenient and time-consuming taking a bath must have been. But the truth is, I was never able to appreciate household plumbing with as much thanksgiving as my grandfather did. This is not because I was ungrateful for modern conveniences. This is not because I was dismissive of the hardships of life prior to indoor plumbing. I was not able to appreciate the goodness of indoor plumbing to the extent my grandfather did because I had never lived in a home without the ability to turn on the tap and instantly have clean water flow out. Without knowledge and experience, there is no thanksgiving. 

I knew of the time before homes had internal plumbing. I had read accounts of household operations before plumbing. I had even visited an old cabin where the only “facility” was an old outhouse. But I had personably never experienced the necessity of carrying the family’s water into the house from an outside well. I had never had to wait until the water, that was carried in from outside, was heated on the woodstove to be used for a bath. I had never had to endure the weather to make use of the restroom. And thus, I could not be truly thankful for the great blessing and convenience of modern plumbing. Thanksgiving is not just an acknowledgment of something that is good. Truth thanksgiving is the response to experiencing something that is good.

When you experience the grace of God through salvation, you will give thanks. When you experience God’s mercy of removing your sin and shame and making you righteous without blemish – you will give thanks. When you experience the abundant provision of God in moments of need and trouble – you will give thanks. These moments of thanksgiving are not the result of academic awareness. These moments of thanksgiving are a response to what has been experienced. If you know of something, you can recognize that it is better than something else. But when you experience something that is good or is a blessing, thanksgiving is the natural response for the blessing and to the one who provided. The longer you walk with the Lord and the greater you experience the glory of His salvation, the greater you will give thanks.

For those who know Jesus, thanksgiving is not primarily focused on the things of this world. You may appreciate and be thankful for worldly comforts, conveniences, and pleasures, but these are not the source of your thanksgiving. I am glad I live in a world of indoor plumbing, electricity, air conditioning, Wi-Fi internet, and modern medicine, but these are not the source of my thankful heart. Take all these things away and there will still be thanksgiving in the hearts of those who have been saved by the blood of Jesus. The thanksgiving of a Christian does not flow from the things of this world but the hope of the gospel and the redemption of Jesus.

I hope you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving. As you gather with family and friends, I pray that the centerpiece of your joy and thanksgiving will be Jesus, who takes away the sin of the world.

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this, you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.” (Colossians 1:3–8, ESV)