"So the other disciples were saying to him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." John 20:25
Have you ever met anyone like Thomas? I'm not talking about those who have no belief at all. I'm not even talking about those who might need some help with their unbelief. I'm talking about those who have walked with the Lord and talked with the Lord but when they come into contact with those who are claiming miraculous blessings, they fold their arms over their chests and demand proof. You've met them. Some of them sit in the pew next to you. Some reside in your mirror.
Our problem can sometimes be that we will only believe God so far. We assign the finite to the infinite, the common and explainable to the miraculous and happenstance to blessings. We are quick to give credit for job promotions to a person's perseverance, intellect and perhaps even office politics rather than to God from whom all blessings flow. Why not give God the credit, especially because you have seen Him work in your own life?
Thomas was an apostle of Christ. Those closest to him should have been the first to believe, nevertheless because Thomas did not see his much predicted return with his own eyes, he refused to believe. It makes one wonder why he spent three years of his life following someone around who was evidently in his eyes at best an ideologue and at worst a liar. What must that say about Thomas? What must it say about us when we allow our faith to retreat? What kind of example are we setting for those with no belief at all?
Fortunately, the Lord is patient. He was patient with John when his faith faltered and he was patient with Thomas. He was in fact so patient with him that he returned and offered to have Thomas place his fingers into his wounds. Thomas was given the opportunity to have his faith verified by what he saw, however, we, beloved, must walk by faith and not by sight. Jesus put it better when he said, "Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." John 20:29b
Believe and you will see...
Loving Like Jesus,
Lee
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