The first hours and days following Jesus’ resurrection were filled with fear and amazement and doubt and wonder. Jesus appeared to a few of his friends…   and these few friends went to tell the others. Some believed and some didn’t. Some acted and some didn’t. Some trusted and some didn’t.

It’s easy to look at the story with 2000 years of hindsight under our belts. But, what do you think YOU would have done if you were there? I think I would probably have been like Thomas. Doubting Thomas. That name is actually unfair to the disciple. Thomas was one of the most committed followers of Jesus during his earthly ministry. In fact, it was Thomas who said (in John 11), when Jesus was about to travel to Judea and Jerusalem despite the fact that the religious leaders were plotting to kill him, “let us go also, so that we may die with him”.

Yet, when confronted with the news that Jesus was alive after being crucified, and had appeared to the disciples in the locked room, his response was doubt and the need for verification.

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So, the other disciples told 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 in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” John 20:24-29 NRSV

We all have limits to our faith. When we hit those limits, we experience fear and doubt. It’s not necessarily a sin to doubt. It’s not a weakness in character. It doesn’t mean we are faithless. We shouldn’t be too hard on ‘doubting’ Thomas…   or ourselves. Part of what it means to be frail, imperfect and human, is to follow God to our paltry limits and then flounder. THAT is what happens when people truly seek God and truly follow Jesus.

The Good News is Jesus doesn’t abandon us there. He returns again and again to encounter us in ways that turn our doubt to wonder and our fear to amazement. If you look and listen carefully, Jesus is making himself known to each of us…   even in the closed and locked rooms of our lives. Let’s take a few moments each day this week and receive the Risen Christ again into our hearts through prayer, devotion to Scriptures, worship, acts of kindness and mercy, and other spiritual disciplines. Jesus will probably not appear to us as he did to Thomas, but he will meet us where we are and turn our uncertainty to assurance.