Title: The Positive Side of Doubt
Date: 2008-03-30
Reference: John 20: 24-29
""A Christian man was walking along a narrow path when he slipped over the edge of a cliff. As he fell he grabbed a branch growing from the side of the cliff. Realizing he couldn’t hold on for long he called for help. “Is anyone up there” he asked. “Yes, I’m here came the answer.” The conversation went on.”Who is there?” “The Lord.” “Lord, please save me.” “Do you trust me to save you?” “Oh yes, I trust you completely.” “Good, then let go of the branch.” After a long pause the man called out again asking.”Is anyone else up there?” He like Thomas, like each of us, at times, experienced his moment of doubt.
The Bible says: “The just shall live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) And we try, we really do. There are also times when we agree with Thomas that “seeing is believing”, and we want to see for ourselves.
Jesus is always graceful and stoops to where we are in order to lift us to where we ought to be. Even people of faith struggle with doubt. At times we wonder why God allows tragedy to happen? Why does a loving God allow innocent people to suffer? Why do bad things happen to good people?
Our faith allows us to move beyond our doubts. On the wall of a basement room in Germany.a victim of the Holocaust scratched a Star of David and the following message.”I believe in the sun even when it does not shine. I believe in love even when it is not shown. And I believe in God even when He does not speak.”
We all owe a debt of gratitude to Thomas.
Doubting Thomas has given skeptics and doubters of all ages hope. Thomas the Twin was not with the other disciples when Jesus appeared to them Easter Evening. Later when they told him Jesus had come among them, Thomas doubted. He said: “First I must see him. Before I believe, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my fingers. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won’t believe unless I do this.”
One week later Jesus said to Thomas: “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Stop doubting and have faith.” Jesus went on to say: “Thomas you have faith because you have seen me. The ones who will have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed.”
Thomas was a twin. The Bible doesn’t tell us who his twin was, but it could be anyone of us who have ever doubted. Thomas wanted a personal experience with Jesus. I’m just not sure it was helpful for Thomas to lay down conditions for Jesus to meet. I know it’s not good for us to expect God to prove Himself to us.
I am skeptical of persons who say they have never, ever doubted. I admire their faith as it is much stronger than mine. I know great spiritual leaders have had their days of doubt and uncertainty. Moses was ready to quit on more than one occasion. So were Elijah and Jeremiah. Even the Apostle Paul knew the meaning of discouragement.
Doubt is a normal human reaction. Doubt is a matter of the mind. We doubt when we cannot understand what God is doing and why. Jesus didn’t rebuke Thomas for his doubts. Jesus rebuked Thomas for his unbelief. Thomas refused to believe the testimony of Mary Magdalene and the other women.
He would not believe the Emmasus disciples. He wouldn’t even believe the other ten apostles. He demanded a pragmatic test. I must see for myself.
Unbelief is when we refuse to believe God’s word and refuse to obey what He tells us to do. Thomas has been dubbed the Palestinian from Missouri, the Show Me State. His doubt was honest and once he was convinced he followed enthusiastically. He became a changed man. Tradition says he went to India and built a church with his own two hands. He died a martyr kneeling in prayer.
Thomas represents people who must have reasons for everything. The Christian faith doesn’t allow us to see life worked out in advance but requires that we walk by faith. To know Christ is sufficient.
Jesus said to Thomas: “Many skeptics in the future will want to see the same proof you have seen. I will not do for them as I have done for you. They will not see for themselves but will see me through your eyes. They will believe without seeing and they will accept your testimony.”
When anyone of us becomes a believer we also become God’s messenger. God’s plan is to speak to the world through each of us. You may feel as if you don’t have anything to say. That’s just our enemy trying to keep us silent. Each person has a storehouse of experiences God wants to use to bring others into the family.
In a courtroom a witness isn’t expected to argue the case, to prove the truth, or press for a verdict. That’s the job of the attorneys. A witnesses is to simply report what happened to them and to tell what they observed. Jesus said: “You will be my witnesses.”
Every believer has some statement of faith or a personal expression of what he believes. And no believer is immune fro doubt. Even after one genuinely believes it is still possible to have intellectual problems. Jesus did not exclude doubters.
Over the years people have asked me questions about God and my faith I was unable to answer. I’ve had to say: “I don’t know. At the same time I continue to believe.” We doubt when we read of or experience tragedies. Murders, accidents, senseless violence, acts of nature like tornadoes. We always wonder why God allowed it and what God was doing while it was happening. Why God didn’t intervene someway. When we pray hard and don’t receive the answer we want we begin to doubt. In times of doubt Jesus doesn’t come to us with answers, Jesus just comes to be with us.
The degree of faith we place in a person or an object is proportional to one’s knowledge of the person or object. The more we learn about Jesus and the better we know Him, the more faith we can place in Him.
Faith is only as good as it’s object. The power of faith rests in the reliability of the object. During the terrible days of the Blitz in World War II a father, holding his small son by his hand ran from a building that had been struck by a bomb. They ran to a shell hole in the front yard. Seeking shelter as soon as possible the father jumped into the hole and held up his arms for the boy to follow. The child was terrified and yet he heard his father’s voice telling him to jump. The boy replied: “I can’t see you.” The father looking up against the sky called to the silhouette of his son and said.”But I can see you. Now come to me.” And the boy jumped because he trusted his father.
Our faith enables us to face life or meet death not because we can see but with the certainty that we are seen. It’s not that we have all the answers but that we are known.
We wouldn’t be human if we never had doubts. When the doctors report is not good. When finances are tough. When the relationship is on the rocks. When tragedy strikes and good people suffer. In those times it is natural to question. The age old philosophical debate is.”If god is all powerful, which He certainly is, and If God is all loving, which he certainly is, then why is there suffering in the world? There are times in life when we don’t have answers. In those times we depend upon our faith. I’ve found god very seldom answers our questions but often comes to us with His comforting presence.
Doubts are normal and probably even healthy at times. So long as doubts don’t lead us to unbelief. Unbelief gets us nowhere fast. I’ve based my entire life, career, and values around my faith in Jesus Christ. I believe we are all important to God and God hears and answers our prayers. Over the years I have experienced many wonderful answers to my prayers. Still there are times when those nagging doubts creep in. Faith isn’t logical. Doubts are real but they don’t last. They are normal but we must move past them.
Once Thomas dealt with his doubts he moved on and never looked back. Knowing Thomas’ personality, I’m had other doubts in his life. The reason anyone of us can be faithful in spite of our doubts is the track record of God. God has always been faithful and there is no reason to assume He will ever stop being faithful.
Thomas didn’t just go alone with his fellow disciples. He challenged their claim and didn’t give up until he was personally satisfied. He was intent on finding the truth wherever the truth would lead. It is possible for us to go through the motions of religion without allowing our faith to change our lives. It’s possible to believe on a surface level without being enthusiastically convinced. In those times doubt is not a bad thing as it can actually deepen our faith. The story of Thomas offers hope to all of us who have ever had a doubt.""
