This is it! The key to the Christian faith – Jesus is alive!
Without what happened in this chapter (and the equivalents in the other three
gospels) our Christian faith would be a waste of time. Jesus took our sin on
the cross, defeated death and is now risen! The heart of the gospel.
Yet despite the miracle of overcoming death itself, some
refused to believe. Among them Thomas – one of Jesus’ closed companions.
Surely this would be an outrage to the risen Christ – here I
am standing before you, power over life and death and you refuse to believe!!!!
Yet Jesus dealt with “Doubting Thomas” with love not anger. “Put your finger
here; see my hands”. Jesus does not criticise Thomas’ doubts but helps him
overcome them. Jesus knows that Thomas wants to believe but also knows that
Thomas is struggling.
Maybe sometimes we feel like Thomas, struggling to believe in
the things of God. It might not be over Jesus death and resurrection but over
some other aspect of our faith.
Just like with Thomas, God does not criticise us for our
doubts. He wants us to overcome them and lovingly helps us do so – without ever
forcing us to believe him.
It’s OK to doubt providing we earnestly seek to believe in
God, to love Him and to trust Him.
(member of the PCC)