If the biblical Thomas was like most of us, he likely continued to experience doubt in his life. No matter the power of the moment when he touched Jesus’ side, I’m sure it faded for him at times as it did for the other disciples. It’s part of human nature to doubt, to wonder if what we’ve seen is real.
Maybe these moments of doubt have something to teach us. Maybe those blessed people Jesus told Thomas about – the ones who believed without seeing – were not Thomas’ moral superiors. Maybe they, too, were acquainted with doubt, and maybe it followed them around the way it does me. Maybe what matters to God is not absence of doubt, but our choice to believe in spite of it.
God is not threatened by Thomas’ doubts or mine. Jesus was not intimidated by Thomas’ unbelief but spoke directly to it. What might have happened if Thomas had not honestly voiced his doubts? What an opportunity would have been lost. Give yourself permission to dance with doubt.
This message is excerpted from “Clouded with doubt” by Cara Strickland in the April 2019 Gather magazine. Today we commemorate Thomas, apostle.
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