I don't think God is intimidated by our questions. I don't even think He has much trouble with our doubts. He said in Isaiah, "Come, Let us reason together." Wow, can you imagine trying to reason with God? Have you ever talked with someone who is infinitely smarter and wiser than you are, yet they consider your puny ideas and words important? Think of it: Almighty God invites us to reason with Him, and He is willing to condescend to entertain our ideas and comments and to discuss our questions and doubts.
I'm fascinated when I meet someone who is so sure of everything and thinks they have all the big issues in life figured out. They are either a supersaint, or they are superstupid. On a good day, I'm right there with them, believing in the face of my doubts. But, some days are tough, and you have to walk by faith rather than feelings. I prefer seeing to believing. But seeing wasn't God's choice for us. He chose faith; He knew that would be a lot more interesting.
Jesus didn't reject Thomas because He was a doubter. Ten disciples told Thomas they'd seen the Master. This was AFTER Christ had been executed, buried, and dead for three days.
Thomas told them, "Unless I see the nail holes in His hands ....and stick my hand in His side, I won't believe it" (John 20:25). Now, this boy was having some serious doubts.
And you know what? If I'd been there, I probably would have said the same thing. I have tried to imagine, if Jesus had been crucified in my lifetime, would I need to see Him to believe He'd risen?
I believe Christ is alive because I actually seen Him working in my heart and life. Thomas didn't believe until he had his own encounter with Christ. But neither did the other disciples. Everybody needs to have his or her own encounter with Jesus. We have to meet Him for ourselves. We can't believe in something with such eternal consequences or just hearsay.
How about you? Do you have a personal encounter with Jesus?
No comments:
Post a Comment