I Am The Man Thomas…

John 20:24  But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.  

25. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.  

26.  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: [then] came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace [be] unto you.  

27.  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.  

28.  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

 29.  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed.  

30. ¶ And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:  

31.  But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

     I can recall this sermons many times from my childhood as a message or faith, blessings, and even doubt. Many things come from these scriptures. I often wonder how Thomas felt as he touched the hands and sides of our Savior. My heart is overwhelmed with both joy and sadness as I think of how I would feel touching the hands of Jesus, saying My Lord and My God. Jesus was so brutally beaten for the redemptions of our sins; he was nailed to a cross and hung there to die so that you and I might have eternal life. Faith is something that we must have! It is far better to believe and be ‘blessed’ than to not believe and live a life without the blessings of the Lord. I cannot imagine going through life never feeling the power of his grace and mercy. To know that he loved you and I enough to hang on a cross as the blood and life flowed from him. He could have called ten thousand angels but he made a choice so that we could also have one. Blessed are they that have NOT seen and yet have believed – we are blessed not only because we have Christ in our lives but because of our faith and belief in him we can spend eternity with him. Many loved ones have gone before us they have touched the nail scared hands of our savior; they bowed and kissed his feet. My heart wants that chance, does yours?  

     It is not beneficial to us is any way to ever doubt his love or his gift of salvation. There is nothing for us to gain.. When I find my mind flooded with doubts I think of an old song I often heard growing up. Look at my hands Thomas- I am that man, look at my back Thomas – I am that man…All we have to do to feel the his power, love, and mercy in our lives and to know that he is real, and open up his word and let it begin to speak to us. Just like Thomas He is our Lord and our God we are blessed because of our belief and someday we will spend eternity with him, Jesus Christ our Savior.