[Pearls Ep 167: Preparing for Sunday.]
Karen’s brother went through a period of life when he was very ill. But for a number of reasons, no one really believed him. He would quip that he was going to have his grave stone emblazoned with “I told them I was sick.”
Doubt is a powerful psychological and spiritual force.
There is a certain type of doubt – cold, rational, and statistical – that is perfectly reasonable. We doubt a meteor is going to fall out of the sky and smash my house, so we’re going to keep typing this message instead of going outside to stare at the sky. We doubt the crazies in Washington are going to suddenly vote to lower our taxes, so we’ll keep budgeting accordingly.
There’s a different type of doubt – toxic and soul-crushing. It’s the type of doubt that gnaws away at our hopes and dreams and belief that there is an underlying principle of God’s goodness.
The antidote for that type of doubt is trust. Trust in a Person. Because that is the type of doubt that Jesus came to conquer.
Leading up to Easter, we noted that the Gospel readings focused on the message of the New Life that Jesus desires for us. We encountered Him preaching about Living Water, and giving sight to the blind, and raising up the dead.
Now that Easter has arrived, Jesus is sending us the message that we can trust in Him to make good on the promise of New Life. New Life not only in the world to come, but in the here-and-now as well.
And that is the topic of our follow-up messages and this week’s Pearls of the Interior Life (which will be released tomorrow).
Easter blessings –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: Doubting Thomas (Jn 20:19-31)
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in His hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.” Then He said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see My hands, and bring your hand and put it into My side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”
Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that through this belief you may have life in his name.