“The other disciples said to Thomas, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I shall 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.’
“Then Jesus said to Thomas, ‘Reach here your finger, and see My hands; and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.’ Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:25, 27-28)
Thomas will always be known as the doubter. But let’s be fair. Luke 24:11 tells us that none of the disciples believed the words of the women who reported that Jesus was alive. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew tells us five times that the disciples were “men of little faith” (Matthew 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:19-20).
But rather than berate the apostles for their lack of faith, let’s rejoice that God chooses people of little faith. Let’s also rejoice that our doubts do not inhibit God from reaching us where we are. It’s true that Thomas refused to believe unless God gave him the tangible evidence he demanded. But God met him in his doubts and gave him whatever he needed to believe. Jesus provided the tangible evidence. And what was the outcome? Thomas became the first of all the disciples to profess the deity of Jesus.
And what became of Thomas? Let me assure you that his struggling faith did not falter. In his book, The Search for the Twelve Apostles, William Stuart McBirnie writes: “The one great insight about St. Thomas himself, which comes to us from the history of St. Thomas in Babylonia and India, is that he was a fearless evangelist and a great builder of churches. … No one can estimate how many millions of Christians came to believe in Christ because of St. Thomas. They are beyond counting.”
REFLECTION
- Do you ever think that you cannot come to God until you first get your life straightened out or develop some great faith?
- Is Jesus the kind of doctor who refuses to treat patients until they become well? Does God run a bank that only lends money to those who don’t need any?
- Jesus said, “I came to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10). He comes to us where we are – lost, sick, poor, and doubting. Come to Jesus just as you are. Jesus never turns anyone away (John 6:37).
