Seeing is Believing…

There is a disciple of Jesus that often is referred to as "Doubting" Thomas…in fact, for many Christians that know the name of this disciple, they think it is a permanent part of his persona; however, nothing could be further from the truth.

In John 20: 24- 29, we find this story of our "doubting" disciple; "One of the disciples, Thomas, “The Twin,” was not there at the time with the others. When they kept telling him, “We have seen the Lord,” he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands—and put my fingers into them—and place my hand into his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them and greeting them. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger into my hands. Put your hand into my side. Don’t be faithless any longer.  Believe!"

“Thomas said, "My Lord and my God!”

 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. But blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.”

You see, Jesus did not rebuke Thomas for his questioning spirit; rather He answered him and told him to see for himself by placing his hands in the scars and in the side of his Savior. And though Scripture never tells us that he did reach out and touch Jesus;  in that moment, all of his doubt vanished and he proclaimed his belief in the eternal one of Heaven.

Now for you and I, we too, have times when we question God and need some sort of "proof" that He is able and willing to do or be what we need at that moment…and it is our loving and sincere relationship with our Heavenly Father that allows us to seek Him and ask our questions…and He always answers, though not always according to our time table. God is not intimidated by our questions and He will not chastise us for asking. He is, however, waiting to see us grow to the point in our faith when we can believe without seeing and our doubt is never more than a fleeting thought that comes and goes quickly.

So what about this guy name Thomas… is this a bad rap for a momentary lapse of faith or a sincere desire to believe by questioning what he could not understand?

Thomas was a believer that went on to be a great servant for God as he took his faith in a Risen Savior and shared it throughout the country of India…he bore much fruit in the faith and was killed by a spear in the back. The church is there today because of this man who and his questioning spirit.

Remember, our questions are often the beginning to our journey…but the answers come more often through our experiences that build our faith and cause us to reach out and touch our world around us…we are touched by our Savior so that we may know and go where He leads…free from doubt and firmly rooted in His Word and the power of His Holy Spirit.

Touched by My Lord…Serving in Faithfulness,

WPQ

Thought for the day:

If you seek to follow Christ

But questions fill your mind;

Just trust the Father up above

For the answers in due time.

For He has called each of us

To be willing to step out;

To declare our faith and love for Him,

Forever… and without doubt.