But Thomas said, "First, I must see the nail scars in his hands and touch them with my finger. I must put my hand where the spear went into his side. I won't believe unless I do this!"

Maybe Thomas should have a license plate from Missouri, the �Show Me� state. I don�t say that to poke fun at either Thomas or Missouri. Most of us want proof before we buy into something. I�m sure there�s a lot of history behind the saying, �Seeing is believing.� or the Jerry McGuire tagline, �Show me the money.� When you buy something from the internet, a shopping channel or an old fashioned mail order catalog, you don�t really know what you�re getting until it arrives at your home and you open the package. I�ve heard real life stories of arranged marriages in which the bride and groom never laid eyes on each other until the wedding day. It takes a lot of faith in whoever arranged the marriage to commit to that. But then that is the point, isn�t it? It takes faith!

The famous chapter on faith in Hebrews 11 begins, �1) Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. 2) It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God.� (CEV) Faith is when you don�t need to see it to believe it.

Now it would be foolish to put our faith in just anything. I could believe and believe that my coffee cup is capable of filling itself without any human assistance. Most of you would think I�m ready for some kind of therapy. The Bible warns about putting our faith and trust in the wrong thing. Psalm 118 declares, �8) It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. 9) It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.� (NLT) However, the Bible is very clear that we can safely put our trust in the Lord. �5) Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6) Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.� (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)

Many Bible stories show that faith in God and faith in God�s Son, Jesus, has clear rewards. Abraham was counted as righteous because of his faith. (Genesis 15:6) Because Caleb had faith in what God promised, he was allowed to enter the Promised Land. (Numbers 14:24) Jesus commended the faith of a Roman officer and healed his son. (Matthew 8:5-13) Jesus healed a paralytic, because of the faith of his friends. (Matthew 9:2) Jesus healed the hemorrhaging woman, because of her courageous faith. (Matthew 9:20) These are just a few examples.

To put all this in reverse, I like the way Eugene Petersen paraphrases Isaiah 7:9 in �The Message.� �If you don't take your stand in faith, you won't have a leg to stand on." But if you want a good verse to memorize, go for Isaiah 26:3 in the Contemporary English Version. �The LORD gives perfect peace to those whose faith is firm.� The Bible pleads with us to have faith, but what about poor �doubting� Thomas.

26) A week later the disciples were together again. This time, Thomas was with them. Jesus came in while the doors were still locked and stood in the middle of the group. He greeted his disciples 27) and said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and look at my hands! Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and have faith!"

Oh that we could �stop doubting and have faith.� Jesus told his disciples that if they but had faith the size of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. (Matthew 17:19-21) �Oh, ye of little faith,� Jesus wearily admonished his disciples with that phrase more than once. I�ve counted five versions of it in Matthew�s gospel, each for a different occasion from the Sermon on the Mount to a storm at sea, from Peter sinking into the waters of doubt to a conversation about having enough bread, as well as this parable of the mustard seed. Oh we of little faith.

28) Thomas replied, "You are my Lord and my God!" 29) Jesus said, "Thomas, do you have faith because you have seen me? The people who have faith in me without seeing me are the ones who are really blessed!"

If you have ever doubted any aspect of the Christian faith, don�t be too hard on yourself. You have lots of company. Maybe Thomas� story is in the gospels, because many of us down through the ages need to know that our doubts can be redeemed.

Growing up I didn�t take the whole gospel on faith. I had my questions. Faith grew bit by bit over the years. Two things in my college and seminary training still resonate on this topic. The first is Paul Tillich�s insistence that �Doubt is not the opposite of faith; it is one element of faith.� (Tillich, �Dynamics of Faith� (New York: Harper & Row, 1957) The second is John Wesley�s teachings on the assurance of faith. They come out of Wesley�s own experience and struggle. On a ship in route to the Americas, there was a storm at sea (seems to be a biblical test of faith!) which broke the mast of their ship. As Wesley himself trembled, he was impressed with the faith filled response of a group of Moravians who calmly prayed and sang hymns through the storm. Becoming friends with their leader, Wesley eventually experienced an assurance of faith while listening to Luther�s preface to Romans. Through the years he preached and taught that we are saved by faith, but he also realized that assurance of faith comes slower to some than to others.

Maybe that was the way with Thomas, but it did not prevent him from accomplishing great things for the Lord. The Apostle Thomas is credited with carrying the Christian faith to India. I imagine it took an awakened faith to survive that journey in his day. I have stood in the courtyard of a Mar Thomas church in Calcutta. His heritage lives on.

Whatever your faith, whether it contains elements of doubt, and however it may be measured on some manmade scale, give your faith as a gift to God. It is a seed that God has planted in you, and God will enable that seed of faith to grow and blossom and bear much fruit, if only you are willing to let Him. Sharing that faith will help plant that seed in others and encourage them to grow.