Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Faith

John 20: 24-31
24 Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it." 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30 Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may[a] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Can we have faith without first having experienced doubt? Do we always need that "proof" to solidify our faith? I don't have an answer - this is a personal discovery, unique to each of us. Food for thought.

1 comment:

Ray Brock said...

When the priest were carying the Ark of the Covenant, they came to the river and expected God to part the waters as He had done with Moses. God's word to them was "get your feet wet". They debated and then stepped INTO the water with the Ark of the Covenant. At that moment, God stopped the water and allowed then to cross on dry ground. They wanted a sign from God and what God wanted was action and obedience from them first. Get your feet wet!