The Junk Drawer: Doubt - Monday
John 20:25b
But he [Thomas] said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.” (NIV84)
When I walk into my office in the morning I turn on the light, adjust the air, and sit in my chair. I never inspect my chair because when it was given to me it worked pretty well. After a couple of basic ergonomic adjustments, we’ve had a good relationship ever since. The stakes with a chair are higher on this side of 40 because I’m one good fall away from months at the chiropractor, but unless a chair looks to be on its last leg (pun intended) I’ll plop down wherever I can when I need a rest.
We put our faith in a lot of things, and based on their importance, we often dig into the dependability of these things before we put our trust in them. For example, I knew of my now-wife for a couple of years before we started to hang out regularly. We then dated for months and got to know each other well before I asked her to marry me. We were then engaged for even more months, developing an even deeper relationship before standing in front of God, family, and friends and expressing our vows of, “until death do us part” devotion to one another. This makes me question why there is a show on my streaming service called, “90 Day Fiance.” I can’t bring myself to watch an episode, but my presumption is someone meets and 90 days later marries. I’m sure it’s “entertaining” but it seems like a terrible way to make such an important decision.
When it comes to following Jesus, we should approach this decision with caution. A man living 2,000 years ago claimed to be God in the flesh and the only way to God. That’s an audacious claim, so it’s fair for anyone to dig into this claim and decide if it’s worth taking seriously.
Reflection
This week we will engage with and appreciate doubt. Not because it makes us skeptical and untrusting, but because genuine doubt leads to genuine confidence in things that are true and trustworthy.
