John 20:19-31 (The Message)
19-20 Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.” Then he showed them his hands and side.
20-21 The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”
22-23 Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he said. “If you forgive someone’s sins, they’re gone for good. If you don’t forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?”
24-25 But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We saw the Master.”
But he said, “Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won’t believe it.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, “Peace to you.”
27 Then he focused his attention on Thomas. “Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don’t be unbelieving. Believe.”
28 Thomas said, “My Master! My God!”
29 Jesus said, “So, you believe because you’ve seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing.”
30-31 Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.
We don’t get very far into the Easter season before we run into Thomas - doubting Thomas.
He is the one who grounds the resurrection in the physical appearance of Jesus.
He is, as one person put it, “...a pioneer of the faith through whose persistency we are given a message of grace and joy.”
He is also the one who reminds us that doubt is a part of faith. It is often on the growing edge of faith.
As Paul Tillich said, “Doubt isn’t the opposite of faith, it is an element of faith”.
And Alan Jones said, “In a world where there is no room for doubt, ambiguity, or questioning, there is no room for genuine faith.”
What we say we doubt may well be what we most want to believe.
When we continue to believe, even when we have our doubts, we are open to believing more than we can believe.
It is no sin to doubt. Our doubts not only keep us honest and humble, they also are openings for God’s spirit to touch our lives. For through our doubts we are let to believe in mysteries far beyond human logic or comprehension.
Despite being a major figure in faith today,
even Mother Teresa of Calcutta was not
immune to struggles with doubt.
Prayer thought for the week: “Lord, I believe; help mine unbelief. Help me see more then can be seen and believe more then can be grasped with the human mind.”
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