Dealing with Doubt

You won’t find much about Thomas in the other Gospel narratives.  I believe that the reason that John gave us a closer look at Thomas was because he knew that people would have doubts.  After all, the people who would read his Gospel account would have never seen Jesus.  They will only have heard and read about Him.  It was for certain that people would have doubts.  So John addressed those doubts by sharing the story of “Doubting Thomas” in John 20:24-29.

On the day that Jesus rose from the dead, there was plenty of evidence to support His resurrection.  There were angels appearing and testifying that Jesus had been raised from the dead. There was the stone being rolled away and the empty tomb.  There was firsthand testimony from other disciples that Jesus was alive and well.  In spite of all this evidence, Thomas still had doubts.
 
But Jesus didn’t just dismiss Thomas or reject Him because of doubt. Instead, He went out of His way to make a special appearance just for Thomas.  God wants you to know that He cares about the doubts that you may have in your heart and mind.

The number of disciples was down to 11, so what was one more?  The other 10 believed.  Ten is a good number to work with.  Jesus could have said, “This is Thomas’ problem, the rest of you follow me” and then carried on without Thomas.  But that is not what Jesus did.  Jesus did not cast Thomas out because he doubted.  Instead, He came to Thomas with compassion, mercy and grace.
 
He didn’t need Thomas.  He wanted Thomas because He loved Thomas.  Jesus didn’t reject Thomas because he doubted and He won’t reject you when you doubt.  When you have doubts don’t be afraid to go to Jesus with those doubts.  When you do, you will find the same measure of grace, mercy, compassion and love that Jesus showed to Thomas.

These are your Words for Wednesday.  It has been a pleasure!  Have a great rest of your week!

In Christ,

Kevin