But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came…he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (John 20:24-25).
Even though I know the end of the story–that Easter always comes, that Jesus has promised to come again–sometimes I doubt the faith to which I have bound myself. I used to be afraid of those thoughts, afraid that they meant that my faith wasn’t secure enough, that maybe it hadn’t quite stuck.
But then I think about how Jesus came just to see Thomas, to place himself in plain view, to make sure Thomas had what he needed to believe. Maybe the doubts that crept into my mind were a gift, a way to get to Jesus. My doubts are invitations for God to respond, to make the Spirit’s presence known, if I will only pay attention.
This message is an excerpt from “Thomas and me” by Cara Strickland in the October 2017 issue of Gather magazine.
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