Seeing And Believing

And Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!  Jesus said to him, Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. 

John 20:28-29 

When Thomas saw Christ in Person, alive from the dead, he believed. Our text records Christ’s remark. He declares, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed.’ Thomas would not accept the testimony of others, he required personal evidence. He must see Christ for himself. Christ was kind, compassionate, and patient with Thomas. He graciously appeared to him and met his requirements. Christ went on to say, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ That is us. Our belief that Christ has risen from the dead rests upon the testimony of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and Peter. These all testify that Christ has risen from the dead. The rest of the preaching and writing in the New Testament repeats the message. We believe their witness, and we have believed without seeing. This is no slight on Thomas. We have our own struggles. Christ was gracious to Thomas and gracious to us. He has given us faith to believe without having seen. Our message is that Christ has risen from the dead. We believe it, proclaim it, and rejoice in it. 

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You have risen from the dead. 
We praise You that You have given unto us the privilege 
of proclaiming You to all the world. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning