IS SEEING BELIEVING?
John
20:25 Thomas
said to the other disciples who had seen Jesus: “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.”
We live on the far side of
the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Today we have the Scriptures
available to us. Through reading them we have eyes to see back to the days when
Jesus walked the earth. What has been written down is for our benefit. After
Jesus ascended into heaven, no man has seen him in his resurrection body but
one person, the Apostle Paul. Since then, no man has seen Jesus. You and I are
left to read Scripture, hear of the Holy Spirit’s transforming power in the
hearts of men and women since the days of Christ.
Today, like Thomas, many
people refuse to believe what the Bible tells us of those days. They are like
Thomas. They need physical proof before they will believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God. Unfortunately that is not the way God has ordained
his plan for us. Today we have the Bible witness and the living testimonies of
believers. We also have the person of the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds
and give sight to our eyes to see that the Bible witness to Jesus is true.
Thomas saw Christ and
believed. Today, we believe in order to see. We believe that the Bible is God’s
word and witness to truth. The truth is related to Jesus and shows us that he
is the Son of God, the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation from the days of
Genesis. By the power of the Holy Spirit we believe that the story of Jesus is
true. By the witness of other believers we know the truth to God’s presence in
people by the Holy Spirit. His working in us moves us to repent of our sins and
accept Christ’s suffering as punishment for our sins. His sacrifice is final.
He opens the door to our relationship with the Father. Believe today, like
Thomas, that Jesus Christ is “my Lord and my God!”
