Dis-believing Thomas

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 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 it." John 20: 24-25, NIV

I like Thomas, a LOT. He was never one to hold back and he always spoke his mind ... a LOT like me! AND Thomas demands proof ... a lot like MANY of us. How hard is it to believe in the unseen ... well, for some. It seems that I have friends who find it easier to believe in ghosts than in a resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.  But back to Thomas. Thomas seems to be a man who doesn't believe in a thing just on the word of those around him. He is not a gullible kind of guy (so UNLIKE me!). When the others excitedly tell Thomas "guess what, Jesus was just here! We SAW Him!! We SPOKE with Him!!!", Thomas' response is almost a guffaw - a "yeah right and I saw flying monkeys this morning!" I love that about Thomas because he so - well, so everyman.

Now admittedly you tell me ANYTHING under the sun and I typically believe it but there are not many out there in the world like that. Most people are like Thomas - disbelieving until shown. Doubting until evidenced. Requiring proof to know. Thomas is often referred to as the 'doubting Thomas'. Pastor John implied in a previous blog entry (see A Word from John) of another title for Thomas and I am extremely curious to see where he will be going with his sermon message this week.

Back to the story of Thomas though. Jesus comes into the room and walks up to Thomas and gives him the opportunity to have the evidential proof that he requires. He allows Thomas to touch the places of woundedness. Now up to this point nobody has been allowed to touch the resurrected Jesus so I find this quite an honor. Thomas doubts that Christ was among the disciples earlier and Christ, instead of reprimanding the man for his disbelief, he offers himself to Thomas. Wow.

Wow! That's it isn't it? Christ offers himself to us, continually. Whether we believe or not Christ makes himself available for examination, criticism, and proof.  Wow ... (the light bulb goes on!) ...

Lord Jesus, may I always be aware of your availability to me and may all of us, each and every one of us, find our way to belief in You.

Until next time,
peace and blessings to each of you.