Poor Doubting Thomas

Bible Reading: John 20:24-29

Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!   John 20:27

Not many people have nice things to say about the disciple Thomas.

After Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to the disciples behind closed doors, Thomas wasn’t with them. So when the disciples told Thomas that Jesus was alive, he didn’t believe them. “I won’t believe it,” he said, “unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side” (John 20:25). When Jesus later appeared to Thomas, the Lord took him up on his offer. He said, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” (verse 27).

Talk about it: What do you think of Thomas? Is he a model for our faith—or would it have been better to leave his story out of the Bible?

Okay, so Thomas wasn’t as bad as Judas, the guy who betrayed Jesus. He might not even have been as awful as Peter, who denied the Lord three times. But of all the disciples—the twelve guys closest to Jesus during his three years of teaching and preaching—Thomas is usually lumped among the bad boys.

Many people put Thomas down because of his doubt. But they forget one fact: None of the other disciples believed until they, too, had seen evidence of the Resurrection. Everyone else had already seen Jesus’ hands and side. What’s more, Jesus didn’t say to Thomas, “You were a really bad disciple for doubting me.” Instead, he showed his disciple the evidence and then said, “Stop doubting.” And finally, when Thomas did see the evidence, he uttered one of the loudest confessions of faith in history, calling Jesus “my Lord and my God!” (verse 28).

For some reason we think that doubt is totally bad. “Real Christians don’t doubt,” we say. That’s a myth.

Doubt is actually the starting point of faith. In the Bible’s original language of Greek, the meaning of “doubter” is “inquirer.” An “inquirer” is someone inquiring, asking, or hunting for answers. Sure, there are dishonest doubts people use to dis­tract others from trusting Jesus. Yet there are honest questions about faith.

You can learn these lessons from an honest doubter named Thomas: Doubt is natural. It’s okay to be honest about your doubts. And if you’re truly looking for an­swers, your doubts should be replaced by faith when Jesus shows you the truth.

Jesus doesn’t want you to hide your doubts from him. He loves you. He even understands your questions.

TALK: What doubts keep you from following Jesus totally?

PRAY: God, when it’s hard to trust you, show us more of yourself and help us believe.

ACT: Do you have any friends who doubt God? What can you tell them about doubt?

A Difference That Counts

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 6:11

Now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God.   1 Corinthians 6:11

Suppose you’re chatting with a non-Christian about Jesus. You think you’re getting your point across with your gentle and ultrawise persuasion—until you get bopped over the head with this line: “Well,” your friend smirks, “people who are dead stay that way. They don’t rise from the dead.”

You can’t make Jesus rise again in a laboratory. But you can point to the Bible for evidence of the empty tomb. Along with that, you can supply an additional sign of life: the change that happens to people when they trust Jesus.

Talk about it: Do you think that the changed lives of Christians prove anything about the truth of what we believe?

Suppose you are a non-Christian. You have a friend who one day says, “You know, a year ago I trusted Jesus. He’s totally changed my life. I used to scream at my parents. I always trash-talked my little sister. I was totally selfish. I’m not perfect, but I’m not that way anymore. Having a relationship with Jesus has made me a different person. And he’s given me a peace and love and joy I never experienced before.”

Would you believe her?

It’s hard to argue with your friend if her life backs up what she says—if you can spot real change. But what if she’s some weird spiritual mutant? What if she’s the only one whose life has been changed by this Jesus guy?

Well, your friend isn’t alone. Countless others have experienced the same awesome changes by turning their lives over to Christ. They don’t claim that merely reading a book changed them. They don’t say that a creepy encounter with aliens has left them altered forever. And none of them claim that their new power comes from inside themselves. They talk about one cause for their peace, joy, and victory over sin. It’s Jesus Christ and his resurrection power.

When we want to prove that the resurrection of Jesus Christ actually happened, we can point to a difference obvious in millions of people from every walk of life and all nations of the world. And the change can be traced to one source—their relation­ship with the living Jesus Christ. That’s evidence that your friend isn’t selling you some crazy story. She’s sharing a persuasive fact.

Your experience of Jesus is more than wishful thinking. You’ve met the risen Savior. And he’s made a real difference in your life!

TALK: When a non-Christian looks at you, what can that person see that points to God at work in your life?

PRAY: Dear God, change us so our friends can see your power at work. Make our life a convincing display of the power that raised Christ from the dead.

ACT: Explain to a friend some of the differences Christ has made in your life.

 

 

Through the Knothole

Bible Reading: Romans 8:28-30

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.   Romans 8:28

NORMAN ROCKWELL WAS a famous twentieth-century American painter. Many of his paintings were originally created for magazine covers, which made Rockwell one of the most famous artists of his time.

One of Rockwell’s paintings depicted a little boy watching a baseball game through a knothole in the ballpark fence. The boy presses his eye tightly against the hole, but he can see only straight ahead. He can’t see anything to either side of the field, and he’s blind to anything that happens close to the fence. The players and umpires on the field and the spectators in the stands can see the whole game. But the boy looking through the knothole can only see a small part of what’s going on.

We are like the boy looking through the knothole. Our view of life is like his view of that baseball game. We don’t know what good things might happen if we make right choices. We don’t know what bad things might happen if we make wrong choices. And sometimes it seems like a right choice might have unpleasant consequences, while a wrong choice seems to be the easiest and best way to handle a situation. But that’s because we can’t see everything that is going on.

God sees the whole “game.” He can see everything that is happening and everything that’s going to happen. He tells us we’ll be better off in the long run if we make right choices and avoid wrong choices. He has the power to work everything together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28).

So when the wrong choice looks like it’s more fun than the right choice, remember that you’re like the boy looking through the knothole. When the wrong choice seems so easy and the right choice seems hard, remember that you can’t see the whole playing field. When the wrong choice has immediate benefits and the right choice doesn’t, remember that God can see everything that is going on. He says you’ll be better off in the long run if you make right choices.

So which view do you think you can trust: the view through the knothole or the view of the whole game inside the park?

REFLECT: Do you ever think a wrong choice seems easy and the right choice seems hard? Does it sometimes seem like the wrong choice has immediate benefits and the right choice doesn’t? If so, what do you usually do when that happens? Which view do you think you can trust: the view through the knothole (your view) or the view of the whole game (God’s view)? If you trust God’s view, which choice will you make?

PRAY: “God, I know you can see everything so much better than I can. Please help me to remember that when the wrong choice looks better or easier or more fun than the right choice. I know I can trust you to help me choose the right thing.”

 

 

Bad Influences

Bible Reading: Psalm 1:1-6

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.   Psalm 1:1, NIV

THERE ONCE WAS a young woman who was being shown around a large coal-mining camp in West Virginia along with a group of businesspeople. All the others on the tour were dressed in jeans and work shirts, while she wore a sparkling white dress.

As the group prepared to enter the rickety old elevator that would take them down a shaft into the underground coal mine, their guide paused and looked at the woman in the white dress.

“Are you sure you want to go down to the mines, ma’am?” he asked her.

The woman looked slightly offended. “Well, why not?”

The man cleared his throat nervously. “You’re wearing a white dress,” he said.

“Anyone can see that,” the woman answered. “There’s nothing to prevent me from wearing a white dress into a coal mine if I want to.”

The man nodded and shrugged. “Yes, ma’am,” he said as he closed the door to the elevator behind her and the others. “But there’s plenty to keep you from wearing a white dress out of a coal mine.”

That man knew that no matter how white her dress was when she went into the coal mine, it wouldn’t be white when she came out. Coal mines tend to rub off on a person, and that’s not just true of coal mines. It’s also true of other things—like habits.

If you’re like most kids, you have friends who don’t always make right choices. You may even have some friends who almost never make right choices. And you may feel like that woman: “There’s nothing to prevent me from hanging around with that person if I want to.”

And you may be right. There may be nothing wrong with hanging around with that person. After all, you should love everyone, even those who often make wrong choices. But remember, habits—like coal dust—tend to rub off on a person. You may enter such a friendship wearing “a white garment” of pure thoughts and good intentions. But your outfit may not stay “white.”

The Bible says you’re much better off if you do not “walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners” (Psalm 1:1, NIV). That doesn’t mean you should be rude or unkind to friends who seem to make a lot of wrong choices. It simply means that you should stay away from coal mines and bad influences. Why? Because both tend to rub off.

REFLECT: Do you have any friends who seem to make a lot of wrong choices? Do you think there’s a risk that some of those friends’ habits might “rub off” on you? If not, why not? Is there anything you can do to limit their influence on you?

PRAY: “Father, I want to be like the person described in Psalm 1, who doesn’t let others influence him to do wrong. Please help me to delight in your law and stay away from people who might have a bad influence on me.”