I was raised in an environment in which questioning what one believed and why the believed it was synonymous with unbelief. Upon attending a small seminary in Missouri, I quickly fell at odds with at least a couple of my instructors. Much of it stemmed from my constant asking of a single question: "Why?" We constantly sang songs with phrases in them such as "I have no doubt", "I don't need to understand, I just need to hold His hand", and other statements of unshakable faith. Outside of the churchouse, however, I heard a different tune. "Why did God let this happen to me?" "Why do evil people get off scott-free?" Many other questions in a similar vein were voiced by those who claimed unshakable faith in both song and statement.
I heard numerous sermons on "the sin of unbelief". Ironically, while the Bible had some pretty strong things to say about doubt, this phrase was never found in Scripture. Nor was another sermon I hear a great deal of: "Doubting" Thomas. Of all of the Apostles, Thomas was maligned second only to Judas Iscariot. Such has been the tradition of many Christian writers for centuries.
In truth, Thomas was probably a bit more of a realist than many of the Apostles. Consider Simon Peter: "I would die with you!" (Mat. 26:35). Thomas made a similar statement: "Let us go, that we may die with him." (John 11:16). The difference is that one comment was made as a brash statement, while the other was made in resignation to the obvious: Jesus was going to Jerusalem, and he intended to die.
Quite frequently, the Apostles didn't quite "get it", but were afraid to ask (Mar. 9:32). Thomas, on the other hand, was in part responsible for one of the most awesome answers Jesus ever gave. Consider this passage in John 14:5-7 :
Thomas said to Him, "“Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" ”Jesus said to him, "“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."(NKJV)
In the end, Thomas believed no more or no less than any of the other Apostles. After all, what did he not believe? Ten other men who had seen Jesus die just as he had. These were the same men who didn't believe Mary Magdalene when she claimed to have spoken to a risen Jesus (Mark 16:11). So why do we treat Thomas differently?
Men have long questioned God, His plans, and His ways. Consider Job, Moses, or Jeremiah. (If Jeremiah was still alive, you'd have a hard time convincing me that he didn't plagiarize his prayer in chapter 12 from my journal.) Sometimes God never answered their questions. Sometimes, with men such as Thomas, He did.
Perhaps Tennyson put it best: "There is more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than half the creeds." I am grateful to a God who has grace for the seekers who, like Thomas, refuse to accept things just because they were told to accept them.
