“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!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:27-31)
In the midst of the violence and persecution of our day, it is normal to have questions Doubts often arise when we go through severe trials. But if we are so fearful of the bad things that might happen we may fail to accept God’s blessings and His miracles in our lives. Maybe we think it would be so much easier if we could see Jesus with our eyes or touch Him with our hands. But we do not need this. We have the testimony of trustworthy men and women, the testimony of eyewitnesses, men like the Apostle Thomas.
We are not told why Thomas was not present the evening of the first Easter. Maybe he was too scared and stayed home in bed, hiding under the blankets. We may laugh at such a thought but tragically when people get severely depressed or suffer the loss of a loved one through sudden violence, that is what many tend to do that. They want to stay home and lie in bed, too afraid, too indifferent to do anything. And yet great revelations often come from doubts. As we wrestle to understand God, we often receive enlightenment and blessings. Certainly we are all enriched by these words of Jesus in response to Thomas’ skepticism. “My Lord and My God!” These words tell us the great truth of the uniqueness of Jesus, of His oneness with the Father, of His deity. Were it not for Thomas’ question, we would not have this great affirmation of Christ’s deity.
Their testimony of Thomas, the women who followed Jesus, and His disciples compose a great truth that has been handed down by the Holy Spirit through the church to us and through us to a world that needs truth, hope and direction. Our God is real; He is alive; He is in control. No other religion has such truth. Go to a Buddhist or Hindu temple. Go touch the statues. You will not touch flesh but cold dead metal or stone. You will not find a God in any religion who, out of His great love for us died for our sins. You will find no love at all in the gods of any of the world’s religions or cults. You will find a living and loving God only in the Christian Faith. Only we serve a Risen and Living Savior!