Ah. One of those gems of a passage in the Bible. Everyone – EVERYONE – knows doubting Thomas. It has even become part of our lexicon to call someone a “doubting Thomas.” Poor Thomas, known for millennia as the fool who didn’t believe.
But I think we are being far too unfair with Thomas. What is said about Thomas in verse 24? What did Jesus say in verse 29?
The story starts off with the innocuous and often overlooked statement that Thomas “was not with the disciples when Jesus came.” We can look back at Thomas and shake our heads and say that he should have had faith. But we don’t say the same thing about the other ten disciples. They believed because they saw Jesus. He came into their locked room and showed them his hands and side (John 20:20).
Is Thomas any different than the others? I don’t think so. The other disciples were hiding and likely had their doubts. But Jesus made it easy on them; he showed them his wounds before they had a chance to ask.
Is Thomas any different than we are? I don’t think so. So many people hope and pray and ask that God will show them some kind of sign to indicate that He is real. They want that indisputable proof that Jesus is indeed alive and that God truly is the Master of all the universe.
We all doubt just as much as Thomas did. We all would like that proof.
But Jesus tells Thomas that his seeing is what brought him faith. Jesus points out that those who have faith without the proof are blessed. And isn’t that what faith is all about – believing in the unseen?
Although Jesus was speaking to Thomas I think his comment was meant for the other disciples and for us. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
If we are to be Christians then we must believe that Jesus is our Savior and Lord. We must believe that he died and rose again. We must believe that we are to live with Christ in our hearts. And if we can do that we will be blessed – not just with good things from God, but blessed with the wonderful comfort of knowing Jesus is with us in all things.
Seeing is believing, but believing is also seeing. When we believe without seeing then we will see Christ in our lives and in our hearts. We will see God in all that is around us if we can believe first.
DAILY CHALLENGE: How can your faith help you see God?
