Faith is a fragile thing... it either requires of us no thought at all, or an intense and ongoing intellectual scrutiny to exist.
In John chapter 20 there is a story that give us an intimate look at the doubts of a certain apostle named Thomas. One who had left everything, everyone and abandoned all to believe in this miracle-working Jesus from Nazareth. It was only after his messiah was betrayed by one of Thomas’ closest religious friends and then brutally and unjustly executed by a politically motivated church mob that his faith was extinguished.
His story is quite often our own story... we eventually carefully decide to put our trust in someone. Then we slowly give them our hearts, and hopes and dreams and then they fail us and send it all crashing to the ground. And when the smoke clears... we have to choose to trust again or to wall ourselves off and never ever let anyone else in.
So easy to identify with these broken “faith” experiences in our human terms like we do when we’re in love or dating or going through a divorce. Our lives, like Thomas’ are so often filled with heartache and betrayal that its become pop culture cliché’.
But, what if we apply these same concepts to our “Faith”? I believe the story stays the same with just a few changes in the names and places and we’ll find that most of us live in a similar broken state of faith as Thomas. Afraid to trust, afraid to believe in anyone or anything again and just as cynical and broken as we can be.
Read the story in John chapter 20, find out what happens to Thomas and what God does for him, and promises to do for us... . In the end, He promises to come back for us, to prove who He is and to share His wounds with ours. In the end, He believes you are worth a second chance, or a third or a fourth... you get the idea.
Here’s to reviving our Faith anew and to ”helping to keep our families in between the lines and on the road of Life“.
