READ: John 20.25 NLT
The disciples told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.”
I suspect that we all have some sympathy for Thomas and are not inclined to blame him for his reluctance to believe that Jesus had risen from death. We know that there was often a competitive spirit amongst the disciples, and they were no doubt happy to brag that they had seen the Lord. I am sure Thomas desperately wanted to believe that they were right, but he needed to be sure that that really was the case and so he asked for the evidence.




More than a week later Thomas was given his opportunity. Jesus came to the disciples who, once again, were meeting behind locked doors. He invited Thomas to see the evidence and to put his hand into the wound in his side. John doesn’t record whether Thomas took Jesus up on this offer or not. Thomas simply exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” He was absolutely convinced. Jesus observed that Thomas believed because he had seen him and added “blessed are those who haven’t seen me and
believe anyway.”
Clearly, we don’t have the opportunity to check the evidence in the way that Thomas did. So what are we supposed to do with our
doubts? Everyone has doubts. They are a normal part of life. I don’t believe that God calls us to take a leap in the dark, which is
what many people think faith is all about. I believe that God calls us to take a leap in the light. He has given us a huge amount of
evidence. He invites us to look at his amazing creation, to see the way in which he reveals himself in the Bible, to listen to the testimony
of people who have followed him over the past two thousand years and to learn from the experience of the Christians around us. Yes, God calls us to take a leap of faith – but it’s a leap in the light.



QUESTIONS: What do you do when you face doubts?
PRAYER: Lord God, thank you that you have given us so much evidence of yourself in creation, history and in the Christians around us. Amen

Released on 8 Apr 2021