Lord and God

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

LORD AND GOD

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." 

NIV

Well Thomas has gotten a bad rap for an awful long time being dubbed the “Doubting Thomas” and perhaps with some truth to that. Although others said they had seen Jesus, he was not convinced based on their testimony, he wanted his own verification that Jesus is alive and well. It is also true that When Jesus did appear to Thomas and he accepted his return from the dead, Jesus said it would be a huge blessing to those who accepted the testimony of others, believing without actually seeing. But there is a certain truth we should see in this attitude of Thomas. We can share the good news with everyone we come in contact with and they may not actually believe our testimony unless they have some sort of personal encounter with Jesus. This believer is a prime example of that situation, as he heard the words, but still doubted until God performed an outlandish miracle that defied the laws of science, giving this believer a very personal encounter. Thomas just wanted to know for himself that it was true, and Jesus was going to make sure he put all his doubts behind him and give himself wholly to belief. Is that not just like our Lord, he will assure even the greatest of doubters, such as this believer was? But the “Doubting Thomas” should be renamed the “Inspired Thomas” for once he encountered Jesus for himself, he was the first of all the disciples to proclaim that Jesus was his Lord and his God. This too is our life, as it is doubtful that we can truly believe that Jesus is God unless we have a real encounter with him. Yes, Jesus said that we would be blessed who believe without seeing, which does require a pure faith unlike anything the human mind or heart can stir up. This kind of faith only comes from the Holy Spirit; it is one of his gifts. As the Holy Spirit comes to convict people of sin, and they respond to this conviction, he bestows upon them the gift of faith so they will truly believe. Perhaps we should start identifying ourselves as believers rather than by some denominational title, which is of course, if we have truly received the gift of faith. If we are simply church goers, unconvinced of our sin, unresponsive to the Holy Spirit, we cannot truly be believers, but we are simply as Thomas was. As believers we are assured that Jesus is our Lord and God.