Monday Meditation: He’s Alive! Part 4: He needed to be convinced
We often hear “doubting Thomas” said with a sneer, as if it’s wrong to think twice before deciding to believe something fantastic. But maybe we need to give Thomas a break.
After all, as we’ve seen again and again in these posts this month, Thomas wasn’t the only one who needed to be convinced the resurrection was true. And why should this be surprising? We’re talking about a phenomenon that’s happened only once in all history, an event that defies the laws of nature and boundaries of logic. Jesus, tragically dead as the result of excruciating torment, was now alive: eating, speaking, and moving miraculously among them.
Doubt can be good if it drives us to find the truth, and that’s what it did for Thomas. He didn’t sit in a corner, refusing to believe. He didn’t joke and jeer with the skeptics in Jerusalem, laughing at those demeaned as unsophisticated dolts trying to propagate nonsense. He investigated, and he found the answer he was seeking.
What doubt can do
The Gospel writer bids us do the same. The facts are there, attested by John’s Gospel, repeated throughout Scripture, and underscored by the sacrificial lives of his disciples who chose to die rather than deny the truth.
But it’s OK if we doubt them. Caught up in the questions and confusion of caregiving, we may have little energy to consider the resurrection of Jesus. The decisions and duties in front of us in this moment leave us little capacity to think about much else.
And in the dark of night, weary with the requirements of the day just finished, we may wonder where to find strength to face it all again tomorrow. We may remember all we’ve heard about the power and the presence of God, but that helps us only so much. We have trouble believing what we can’t see as we carry the burden of what we can.
God understands. Notice, Jesus did not condemn Thomas for his doubt, he simply allowed Thomas to discover the truth for himself. He’ll be patient as we do the same. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed,” Jesus said, thus inviting us to our own search for the truth.
When faith is needed
But we will not have Thomas’s privilege. Jesus likely will not appear before us so we can touch his spear-torn side or nail-pierced hand. After all our inquiry, we will not have the certainty that follows empirical proof. We’ll be left with only two choices: Walk away in disbelief or muster the faith to keep seeking Jesus.
He promised we will be “blessed” if we choose the second option. And many make that choice again and again, day by day, because the pressure to doubt never leaves us.
Today, we can pause to see again the testimony of those who believed before us, and we can decide to pursue faith once more.
Read: John 20:24-31
Pray: “Lord, I believe. Help me overcome my unbelief” (see Mark 9:24).
Illustration copyright Classic Bible Art. For information about securing beautiful art like this in books to read and cherish, click here. Click here to find a list of places to see many pieces of this art free, framed, and ready for you to enjoy. Some art in this series is available for license at Goodsalt.com.