Prayer: Lord, stay with me when I doubt and help me to always want more from my faith. Keep my questions going and my faith strong. Amen.
Reading: John 20: 24-31 (Click to read text) Stop and GROW: After reading the text, discuss/ponder the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Book of Faith questions, which are part of Camp Mount Luther's GROW Time with campers. QUESTION 1: What scares, confuses, challenges, or doesn’t make sense to me in this text? QUESTION 2: What delights me in this text or is my favorite part of the story? QUESTION 3: What stories or memories does this text stir in me? QUESTION 4: What is God up to in this text? Reflection: When Jesus died, he appeared to his disciples on several occasions. He met them on a road, he helped them fish, he waited for them by his tomb and so on. And these are good stories and all, but the one that always fascinated me the most is Jesus appearing to Thomas. I think Thomas gets a bad rap because he doubted, but the thing that makes me feel warm inside is that he doubted and he was one of the disciples. He met Jesus, he learned from him, he was friends with him, he left everything to follow him, and he still doubted. I believe with all my heart that it is okay to doubt. Without doubt, there is no faith. The questions we ask are sometimes more important than the answers we may or may not get. So Thomas was upset and he was mourning the loss of his friend. He asked for proof and he got it. Jesus is constantly proving himself to us, we just have to ask and wait for it. And in the meantime, we can talk with each other and learn all that we can to grow in our faith. Jesus says, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” We are not all going to get black and white proof. Jesus knew there was going to a billion (rough estimate) more people like Thomas, constantly seeking proof, always wanting affirmation that Jesus died for us. We just need faith to get us there. To me, this is almost as difficult as comprehending grace. I know I will spend the rest of my life asking questions and searching for answers; but, at the end of the day it is faith I need, not proof. And when I accept that, maybe I’ll receive the proof I want. Besides, there would be no fun if we knew all the answers, right? --Hannah Boston
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Authors
Anyone is welcome to contribute! If you'd like to write for us, please e-mail [email protected] Email
Get our daily devotions delivered to your e-mail box each day by signing up below:
Archives
May 2022
Subscribe |