Faith and Doubts

“Doubting Thomas” is often applied to anyone who has trouble believing the obvious. This term is from the New Testament Gospel of John. Thomas heard the other disciples saying they had seen the Lord, but he responded, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25)

The name calling isn’t fair because — Thomas got it! Jesus came and pointed to his hands and side. This man’s doubt immediately turned to faith and high praise as he proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

Many doubters echo the “I want proof” statement of Thomas. Do they realize that apart from a heavenly vision, they will not get the specific proof they are asking for? Jesus no longer walks this earth. We cannot see His hands and scars. However, He left us His words and the Holy Spirit. We have the biblical record of Him that enables faith . . .

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

I keep going back to these verses because they are the foundation of faith. Read about Jesus. Consider what He did. Knowing about Him can change doubt to faith, and with faith comes the gift of eternal life.

How can that be? John opens his book with this:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1–5)

Jesus is called the Word because it was a term familiar to the Greeks of that time. It is not foreign to me though. The OT begins with: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) and tells how God spoke and things popped into existence. Consider that the words that He spoke equal to His very being, His self — that is Jesus. I know, this is not a great theological description, but modern technology gives me an image of God’s words becoming or morphing into a human being who came to earth to walk among us.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

Jesus is called Emmanuel, which means God with us. He did miracles that no mere man can do. These proved His deity. He died at the hands of those who rejected His claims, but He rose to life, offering His life, eternal life, to all who believe.

This is so outrageous that the human mind needs help grasping it. Therefore He sent the Holy Spirit to open our minds by first convicting us that God exists, then making us aware of our need for Him because we have resisted and sinned against Him. As the Holy Spirit does this and as we respond and are drawn to Jesus, He continues to shed His light on our journey. Each step brings us closer to that day when the doors of our hearts are open to Him and He walks in, changing us, changing everything.

So today, salvation’s story is on my mind along with the deity of Jesus Christ which is the focus of John’s Gospel. This is an amazing wonder, a reality too incredible for my mind to grasp. I know that without the Holy Spirit, I would be just as ornery and skeptical as any doubting Thomas. But because of His grace and mercy, He brought me along so I could say with Thomas, “My Lord and my God!”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, again I say thank You. Keep me on the path. Illuminate my way. Show me what to do next and grant me the grace and power to obey You, no matter what.

Lonely and full of doubt?

Friends have identical twin daughters. Another friend is married to an identical twin. When these twins stand side by side, I can distinguish which one is which, but if I see them separately, I’m not sure. I’ve also heard that identical twins have a closer relationship than do other siblings.

Twins are mentioned in the Bible. Jacob and Esau were twins, but not identical. From the womb they were rivals and never close to each other. The only other twin was Thomas, a disciple of Jesus. His twin is never named, but we do know a bit about Thomas.

When Jesus told the disciples that He was going away and added, “And you know the way to where I am going,” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (John 14:4–5). Skepticism?

Also, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was dead and decided to go to him, the disciples were concerned about Jesus’ safety. Nevertheless, Jesus was determined to go.

So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” (John 11:16)

Definitely a pessimist.

Most of us are more familiar with Thomas as the doubter who was not there when Jesus rose from the dead. When told that Jesus was alive, he said,

Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. (John 20:25)

From this, he gets the tag, “Doubting Thomas.”

Today’s devotional calls Thomas a loner, a solitary man who stood apart from the others. Perhaps it was because He was with Jesus and his twin was not. That bond between twins was broken by the choice Thomas made to follow Jesus. Or maybe his choice caused a rift between them, like the rift between Jacob and Esau. Or maybe his twin was dead and he felt part of himself had died too.

However, the devotional writer suggests that Thomas was a loner, not because his twin was missing, but because of his doubt. As I read all the references about him, his skepticism does seem to separate him from the others. He stands opposite the impetuous Peter who was always in the middle of things. While the disciples rejoiced and shared the good news that “Christ is risen” Thomas was out there somewhere, alone in his doubt and missing the fellowship of shared joy.

The devotional writer says that there are those who doubt because they are lonely, but there are more who are lonely because they doubt. I can relate to this. When my heart is wandering and my faith is weak, I feel alone. I may even see the faith of others as naïve and foolish. No one wants to be around me either.

On the other hand, faith creates a bond and joyfully draws the people of God together as we draw closer to God. In contrast, doubt puts us on an island away from the Body of Christ and alone in our misery. As the devotional says, doubt is the mother of the hungriest loneliness.

With that in mind, I must look again at what Jesus did for this doubter and his loneliness. In the situation with Lazarus, instead of “dying with Him” Thomas saw Jesus raise that man from the dead. That is, seeing God at work is one answer to this loneliness of doubt.

Then eight days after the death of Jesus and His resurrection,

… his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:26–28)

For this lonely doubter, Jesus Christ reveals Himself as the living Savior. He turns Thomas’ eyes from his skepticism and doubt to the reality of His power over sin and death so that Thomas can declare that Jesus is his Lord and God. Fellowship with Him through confession of faith is Christ’s cure for the loneliness of doubt.