Samuel D. High
sdhigh@aristotle.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Apostle Tom <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Sent: Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:27:56 -0500
To: <pressingon@hotmail.com>
Subject: Morning Manna (Mar. 27); BP: Jn. 20:26-29; RBTTY: Lk. 4:1-30;
March 27 “Lord, I Believe”
“And after eight days again His disciples were within and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said, ‘Peace be unto you.’ Then said He to Thomas, ‘Reach hither your finger and behold My hands. And reach hither your hand and thrust it into My side—and be not faithless, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said unto Him, ‘My Lord and My God.’ Jesus said unto him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed’.”
John 20:26-29
It’s found in fellowship with Him and forged/refined on the “anvil of adversity.”
Faith.
What is it? We know it’s not the accumulation of “facts”—for “even the demons believe and tremble” (James 2:19). Likewise, we know it’s not man’s traditions or experiences. And, neither is it based on our feelings.
So, again, what is it?
The anonymous author of Hebrews said, “It is believing God is and is a Rewarder of them who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Simply put, it is believing in Who God is (His Person/Character) and What He has said (His Promises/Conduct). That’s why this simple, childlike “trusting” is “pleasing (Grk. ‘euaresto’—‘gratifying, acceptable, fully agreeable, etc.’) to Him.”
That’s why Thomas has been given a pretty hard time down through the years since today’s Manna occurred. For whatever reason, Thomas—whose name means “twin”—wasn’t present when Jesus first appeared to His disciples after the resurrection (Jn. 20:24). And, when he heard about it, Thomas said, “Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the print of the nails and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe” (v.25).
No wonder he’s been called “Doubting Thomas” down through the ages!
However, could it be. . .take a deep breath and ponder this for a while. . .could it be that his words weren’t birthed by doubt, but were a cry for “first-hand faith”?? The other disciples had already seen Jesus and told Thomas so (v.25a).
But, Thomas didn’t want “second-hand faith;” He wanted to experience what they’d already experienced (v.20). In fact, if we couple today’s Manna with Dr. Luke’s account of the initial encounter, we’ll realize that they also had difficulty believing it was Him (24:40-43). So, perhaps we should lighten up on Thomas and realize we’re not so different from him/them after all! Hallelujah!!
Oh, dear Pilgrim, let’s face it: Faith is not “easy-believism.” It’s not memorizing some creed or “plan of salvation.” It’s that which springs from a personal encounter with the Risen Lord. When we embrace Him (after having been embraced by Him), we begin a lifelong journey that leads us Home. The pilgrimage there will be rough and steep at times; but it is His Presence and Promises that will sustain us. May we, like Thomas, say today, “Lord, I believe. In everything, Lord, I believe.”
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