Good morning, everyone.
Our verse for today comes from John 20:29, “Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”
I watched a short video recently of a young woman who gave her story of her walk away from God. She and her husband were music leaders at a megachurch in Michigan and traveled the globe performing praise and worship services. She said the more they encountered other people and their stories, however, the more they doubted what they had been given. One trip took them to Krakow, Poland, where they visited the concentration camp of WWII. Coming home from this trip, she had a difficult time praying to God with the image of children’s shoes piled up outside the crematorium. Her faith, she said, had essentially been based on transactions where if she prayed enough, was good enough, or believed enough, she got blessings and a good life. Now she knew that wasn’t true. But sadly for her, that led her to embrace the doubt instead of embracing God. Unfortunately, as she and her husband continued their descent towards atheism, those in the church vilified them for their heresy. And now, they are glad to be free of their past. Her dream, she said, is for those who live in fear, trapped in their conservative, fundamental life of religion, to be able to break out of it and not be afraid.
We may be tempted to “blame” this woman’s current state on the doubts she and her husband encountered. But understand that it goes deeper than that. Her life, like every other, is based on believing. She had questions for which she wanted answers, and she chose to believe a lie. She didn’t succumb to doubt, but rather she believed the father of lies. But to reach her with Jesus, His followers are not told to attack and demean. How will that anger or hatred point her to the One who loves her? She, and every other person who doesn’t follow Jesus, is not the enemy. They are the mission field. Satan is the enemy. Praise God he has been defeated, and praise God that He still saves those who will put their faith and trust in Jesus.
As we seek Him today, believe what you believe, and love those who do not yet know the King.
Have a sweet Thursday.
