And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
John 20:28
“Doubting Thomas” earned his nickname honestly. He asked the Lord serious questions when he didn’t know the answers (John 14:5), and He followed Christ sincerely, believing that he was the Jewish Messiah. But when he saw his Master crucified and was overcome with grief, he lost it: He lost his faith. Nothing made sense to him anymore. All his assumptions and expectations were dashed to pieces, and he wanted to be alone.
The resurrected Lord only appeared to believers. He appeared to the women at the tomb, the ten apostles in the upper room, and two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He didn’t show himself to Pontius Pilate, the Roman soldiers that crucified Him, or the Sanhedrin. They had rejected the Lord of Glory, and they would not be forced to believe.
Jesus, however, made one exception. He appeared to Thomas. A week after Christ first appeared to the apostles, Thomas was in the upper room and he really wanted to believe but couldn’t. As soon as he saw the risen Savior, he fell on his knees and cried out, “My Lord and my God!”
Over the years, I’ve had many young people tell me they have “given up” their faith. Actually, just like true salvation can’t be lost, true faith can’t be given up. In any case, these doubters now want to shed their Christian beliefs. Many have been active in church youth groups or counselors at Bible camp, but they have somehow become disillusioned by some aspect of Christianity.
My heart really grieves for these spiritual drop-outs, and I pray for them continually. The bottom line is that Christ never became their Lord and God. My prayer for them is that they can be honest with themselves and sincerely desire to make their faith real. At that point, Christ will make Himself known to them in such an unmistakable way that they drop to their knees and confess Jesus as their Lord and their God.
September 6
