By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer
A couple thousand years ago in Jerusalem, a man named Thomas got the short end of the experiential stick.
Or did he?
As one of the twelve closest friends of Jesus, he spent three years hanging out with God-as-man. He saw miracles. He saw compassion. He saw the impossible become possible.
Thomas saw so much that he wouldn’t believe the crucified Jesus had risen from the dead until he saw the scars of crucifixion and touched them. (Does that make you want to pull your hand back just thinking about it?)
So why wasn’t Thomas with the others when Jesus showed up and proved His resurrection?
All the guys were hanging out. You know, hiding. Safety in numbers and all that. I don’t think there was anything super religious going on when all of a sudden, Jesus was just there.
But Thomas wasn’t.
Where was he?
What was he doing?
Was he thinking about the puzzling words Jesus had spoken to him at the Passover meal a few days before?
It had been a fairly typical family supper: one guy left early (the group’s treasurer, of course). Jesus told another one that he would turn traitor, not just once, but three times. Then He told them all that He was going away but they couldn’t go with Him. However, He said, they knew the way there.
That was too much for Thomas.
“We don’t know where you’re going,” he said, “so how can we know the way?” (John 14:5)
Pause here for a moment and think about Thomas. Where was he seated at the low table? How frustrated must he have been? Was his question rhetorical or literal? Personally, I think it was literal.
“I am the way,” Jesus said.
He elaborated in His typically deep-yet-simple style: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”
Jesus was going to the Father – God the Father, Jehovah, Yahweh. And if Thomas (and the others) wanted to get there too, Jesus was the way to do it.
The second time Jesus joined the group after His resurrection, Thomas was there. Jesus offered His doubting disciple His hands and His side, saying “Put your finger here … Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” (John 20:26-29)
Jesus made an extra effort to reach His troubled, questioning follower. He cared that much, and He still does – for each of us.
We don’t know much about Thomas. Apparently, he didn’t have a lot to say. But to him—someone who would be labeled The Doubter—God-as-man had spoken some of the most life-changing words ever recorded.
Do you think Thomas ever forgot?
I doubt it.
~
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Cale and his horse turned for town. Ella turned for the footbridge.
She clutched her hat as she crossed the wooden slats, water rushing below her like her past—the same, yet somehow changed in the passing. Last to arrive at the touring cars, she climbed into the back of the one with her clothes, other costumes, and Slim, and quickly checked her satchel for the sewing kit. Relieved at finding it still tucked inside, she fell against the seat back, tired, spent, and happier than she’d been in a very long time. A short-lived happiness, with departure pending, but happiness nonetheless.
The driver chugged the engine to life, and the car lurched forward.
“That was quite a ride you made today.” Slim hung his hat on his knee and flung his arm across the back of the seat.
Ella turned her head away. Sweaty didn’t begin to describe Slim’s condition or aroma. She took a long deep breath of fresher air before facing him. “Thank you. But I’m sure you could have done the same.”
A snorty huff. “I doubt it. Mr. Hutton wasn’t about to let me ride his horse, and I wasn’t about to ride Mabel’s. It was you or nothing, and I think Thorson would’ve had a seizure if you hadn’t stepped up.”
Interesting turn of phrase, in more ways than one, but a topic she didn’t care to discuss. “When do you think we’ll be leaving?”
Slim lowered his arm, a small but welcome blessing. ~A Change of Scenery
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If our expectations aren’t met doubt can creep in to our minds.
We need to realize that faith is the answer to defeating our doubts.
We have a God that knows what the future is and we should pray that His will be done. His ways are higher than our ways. We have all heard that.
I’m glad that my future does not depend on my thoughts only! Praise God.
Thank you, Karen.