24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus ), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
My thoughts -
I've always identified with Thomas. Maybe it's just the name. Maybe it's the skeptic in me. Thomas gets a bad rap as a "doubter". First, I'm not sure doubt is a universally bad thing. Second, even if it is I find it to be completely unavoidable.
Thomas need evidence. Don't we all. Fortunately God is good and Jesus showed Thomas exactly what he needed to be able to believe. I love the enthusiasm in Thomas's response. Robert Lopez gave a sermon on this scripture while visiting Trinity Hill once and the church shook as he exclaimed, for Thomas "My Lord and my God!" In fact, the way he exclaimed it requires all caps: "MY LORD AND MY GOD!" There. That's better.
I don't know what to do with doubt. I can't ignore it. It doesn't go away. Sometimes what we believe just feels to good to be true. Maybe I'm just an unfortunate product of a cynical generation. And yet Jesus continues to show me what I need to believe. Maybe it's not quite as concrete as physically touching his side, but it's enough for me for now.
All I have left is to exclaim in response "My Lord and my God!" Maybe some day I will even be able to do so with the same enthusiasm as Robert Lopez.
No comments:
Post a Comment