Faith Big Enough For Questions - Day Four: "Unless I See"

“Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith.” — Paul Tillich

“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands...I will not believe.” — John 20:25

Poor Thomas.

For two thousand years we've called him “Doubting Thomas.”

That seems a little unfair.

Thomas wasn't there when Jesus first appeared to the disciples after the resurrection.

Maybe he was on a food run, or just needed some time to himself.  The Scripture doesn't tell us why he was gone.  

Everyone else saw Jesus, though.  

Thomas didn't.

So when they tell him, “We have seen the Lord,” Thomas essentially says:

I need to see for myself.

Can we really blame him?

If your friends told you that someone you watched die had walked into the room three days later, you might have a few questions too.

Thomas says, “Unless I see...I will not believe.”

Then something beautiful happens.

Jesus comes back.

For Thomas.

Jesus doesn't shame him.

He doesn't say, “Sorry, Thomas. You had your chance.”

He says:

“Touch the wound in my side, and the wounds on my hand."

Jesus meets Thomas in his doubt. He lets Thomas touch the place where he was wounded.  

And Thomas responds with one of the strongest confessions of faith anywhere in John's Gospel:

“My Lord and my God!”

The doubter becomes the one who sees most clearly.

Maybe doubt and faith aren't always opposites.

Sometimes doubt is what happens when faith takes its questions seriously.

Some doubt is shallow and never bothers to search.

But there is also faithful doubt—the kind that keeps asking, keeps seeking, keeps showing up.

Thomas could have walked away.

He didn't.

He remained with the community.

And Jesus met him there.

I think there are seasons when many of us need permission to be Thomas.

To say:

I'm not sure.

I need to think about this.

I need to see something more.

I can't believe this simply because someone told me I should.

That's not necessarily rejection or unbelief.

It may be honesty.

And honest faith has room to grow.

God isn't intimidated by your questions.

Jesus didn't reject Thomas.

He invited him closer.

Maybe Jesus will do the same for us.

Doubt doesn't have to be the doorway out of faith. Sometimes it becomes the doorway into a deeper one.

May it be so, and may the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forever. Amen. 

Prayer

Jesus, meet me in my questions. When I doubt, keep me searching. When I am uncertain, keep me open. Give me courage to examine what I believe and humility to discover where I may be wrong. Help me trust that you are not afraid of my questions but invite me to bring them closer to you. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. What do you think Thomas gets unfairly criticized for?
2. Has questioning something you believed ever ultimately deepened your faith?
3. What question might Jesus be inviting you to explore rather than suppress?