The Faith of Thomas

It is one of the great ironies of Christianity that the apostle, Thomas, has become known as “doubting Thomas.” Thomas makes possibly the most perfect and complete acts of faith in the New Testament. “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)

Thomas re­mains forever a symbol of the power of doubting. He is a model of how doubt can sometimes lead one to the truth much more effectively than blind faith can.

His most important single step is to be willing to confront the possible truth. If Thomas had not been willing to come face-to-face with Jesus, he would never have known that Christ had risen. When facing Jesus, if he had refused to engage in a confront­ing dialogue, he may never have known that this was really the same person with whom he had walked the streets of Jerusalem.

In the best sense, I encourage everyone to be a "doubting Thomas." But we must be willing to carry out our doubts as did Thomas. Doubt that seeks to confront has far more power to lead one to truth than dull acceptance which seeks not to be bothered.