I can't begin to tell you how often I've battled with doubt. It's a constant struggle for me and sometimes I think it's going to drive me completely bonkers! All around me I'm hearing "just have faith", or "trust in the Lord your God", which is all sound advice. But is it advice that's really thought through? Or is it an easy "cop-out" answer for Christian leaders who want to simply hand out the candy instead of the floss?Here's how I see it...
Doubt can be negative, but it can also be fuel. Doubt is gasoline poured on your fire and can actually crank up the heat of your faith! Did you know doubt can actually be a sign of devotion?! WHAT!? I know!!! Now let me be clear here and say that doubt without action leads to nothing, but doubt that fuels action can lead to much deeper levels of faith and understanding.
I dug in to an awesome article on this this morning, brought to you by Relevant Magazine. You should check it out and tell me what you think!
Via Relevant:
Thomas has received a lot of criticism
for this throughout history, and his nickname stuck: Doubting Thomas.
But can we really blame him?
Thomas may have assumed that the disciples were hallucinating, or they may have seen a ghost, or just someone who looked like Jesus. If they hallucinated or saw a ghost, it would mean that Jesus had not truly, physically risen, so Thomas demanded not only to see Jesus with his eyes, but to touch Jesus’ wounds with his hands...
Read more...
Thomas may have assumed that the disciples were hallucinating, or they may have seen a ghost, or just someone who looked like Jesus. If they hallucinated or saw a ghost, it would mean that Jesus had not truly, physically risen, so Thomas demanded not only to see Jesus with his eyes, but to touch Jesus’ wounds with his hands...
Read more...
