Here I am sharing a thought about a Bible Character who fought and won the good fight of Faith.
He was know as Didymus, the "Twin", Thomas the doubter, one of the disciples of Jesus, the guy who always had interesting questions and also, the guy, who have a pretty bad rap among Christians! ;)
Just because we have always followed and is a disciple of Jesus Christ, does not give us any sort of superpowers to have gigantic Faith. Right?
In Thomas's case, I kind of feel it was unfair that He caught on to that double name, doubting Thomas.
The reason, why I feel that way, is because, Thomas, was NOT the only disciple, to wrestle with the truth of Jesus's resurrection.
Say what???
Yeah, you read that right, I know! Let me elaborate that story to you. :)
The truth is all of Jesus's disciples wrestled with resonating and believing, when Mary and the other women, came and told them that their Rabbi Jesus, was alive.
They were the 'Doubting disciples', seriously!
Need Proof? check out the Bible verse below:
It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. - Luke 24:10-11
So, yeah, those eleven disciples did not believe, they literally thought that was NONSENSE, Until Jesus appeared to them and later, again He appeared just for Thomas.
Now, I want you take a few steps back to before Jesus was crucified, check this out, This is what Thomas was telling the other disciples, In John 11:16 - Thomas spoke to his fellow disciples: “Let us also go, that we may die with him”
Yeap, Thomas, was that guy who was ready to die with Jesus. He was passionate for His Rabbi. He loved Him. He actually demonstrated deep and extreme loyalty to Jesus. Don’t let the “Doubting Thomas” story fool you: Thomas shows a lot of bravery and leadership.
But, like many of us, Thomas the disciple of Jesus, exhibited that seeing is believing, which of-course, is a natural idea that pops for all human beings.
Therefore, when Mr. Doubt guy, expressed his feelings and doubts about Jesus being alive, His doubt actually represented a genuine, sincere, truth-loving quest.
Sincere faith does not prohibit sincere searching and investigation. right?
So later, we can see that, eight days after Jesus’s resurrection, the disciples met together and at that time Thomas was there with them when Jesus appeared to them and Jesus says, In John 20:27-28 - Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
In this situation, it is actually nice to see Thomas's astound reaction, He recognized, Jesus's Divinity. So cool!
Jesus is so kind and lovingly met Thomas at the exact point of his need and then guided him back to faith.
You see Thomas's question and doubt was only Human. Later on, we can find from Historical evidences that, Thomas the disciple of Jesus Christ, was the first to explicitly acknowledge the divinity of Jesus and share the gospel across the world to India and later, he was martyred by a spear, for his faith.
Jesus’s spear wounds were the evidence, Thomas needed to believe, but, now, Thomas’s spear wounds are the evidence of his Faith in Christ Jesus.
So friends, We can also be honest with God about our doubts and questions; Things we don't understand, Jesus understands. He feels and knows all our struggles, hurt, pain, desperations and He is quite capable of strengthening our faith. Just go to Him with a sincere and honest heart. Like Thomas, we will also be able to confess, “My Lord and my God!” in full confidence of who Jesus is in our lives!
So, do you also struggle with similar issues like Thomas with your Faith?
Also, I want to share this too, I think, Thomas the disciple of Jesus Christ, should be better known for his Obedience to Jesus, to the gospel, and his faith in Christ and not as some kind of doubter. Don't you think so, too? Write your response and thoughts in the comments below. Hope you enjoyed this encouraging message on Standing in Faith. God bless. :)
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