Conditions Are Control

You may be like me, always thinking of Thomas, also called “the Twin”, as the “doubter.” “Doubting Thomas” seems to roll of the tongue as easily as “Simon Peter,” or “Jesus Christ.” Yet, the more I think about it, the more convinced I become, in part because the Greek work translated as “doubt,” is “apistos,” which is more accurately translated as ‘unfaithful, or unbelieving. So Jesus’ response to Thomas should be something like, “Do not be unbelieving, but believe.” To believe, as I see it, is to put our trust in someone or something beyond ourselves. Faith is believing where we have not seen… it’s trusting what God says, even when what we see contradicts it. Thomas is less a “doubter,” and is more likely a “controller”; he gives if/then conditions to his belief. Like any of us, who seeks to control the situation, we put conditions on the situation, IF you will do this, THEN I will do this. But Jesus comes to Thomas and invites him to let go, and let God…. His response? “My Lord, and my God.” May that be my response too!