Healthy Doubt

March 20, 2008

Michael Gow


Welcome to the annual shaking our heads at Thomas and wondering how he could doubt the risen lord. There’s a difference today, however. Today, I’m here to defend Thomas. I’m here today to say that his doubt was normal and expected. I’m even here today to say that doubt is not only good, but one of the many wonders of the Father.

I was reminded of something on Good Friday. We can commemorate that day without tears because we knew what was going to happen a couple of days hence. The disciples of Jesus didn’t have that luxury. If you look at it dispassionately, they would have been a psychiatrist’s greatest challenge.

There they were, in fear of their lives. The elders of the temple were never stronger, having had killed off this upstart Jesus and his ideas that would have taken away their carefully crafted power. The knew there were wanted men, as has been already proven with Peter.

They were in both grief and shock over the loss of their friend, their teacher, and their savior. Yes, Jesus has given them clear hints that this wasn’t the end for him, but they didn’t understand those hints. As far as they knew, he was gone, never to be seen on earth again.

Add to that a big helping of guilt. Their master and teacher needed them, and what did they do? They beat a path to the four winds just when he needed them most. One denied him three times. Most of the others melted into the city. Who can blame them for thinking that if they had only been there to help Jesus, he might still be around that day. They were emotional maelstroms, and all they had to rely upon were one another.

So can you really blame Thomas for being skeptical when the other disciples said they had seen Jesus. With all those emotions running through them, they might have admitted to seeing Moses and Adam doing the two step. Thomas chalked it all up to the emotion of the time and some true longing to actually see Jesus just once again. He probably saw that he had to be the rational one, the one to snap the other disciples out of their delusions. So, he did what any rational person would do in this situation. He did what he could to put the seeds of doubt into the disciples minds, hoping that would allow them to begin thinking clearly again. Thomas saw that he was the one who could pull his friends back from that chasm…back into sanity.

Can any of us say, in that situation, that we wouldn’t do exactly what Tomas did?

Can we say that we might try to smile at the disciples upon hearing this story, back away slowly towards the door, and think they have all flipped their lids? We all would have doubt.

That’s not a bad thing. As I believe with everything in my life, doubt is a gift from God. Properly used, it is just another weapon in the arsenal against the Tempter’s power. Doubt is a unique blend of intellect and raw emotion. It is something within us that tells us to stop and look at the situation. It is a developed gut instinct that a situation doesn’t ring true. It’s a gift from God that can keep us out of a lot of trouble.

Think of it. Without doubt, we would probably respond to those e-mails we receive that, out of six billion people on earth, we have been contacted by some crooked bank clerk to help get money from the account of the dead billionaire Arthur P. Lotsabucks. Without doubt, we would believe those other e-mails that claim we have won the Transylvanian National Lottery, though we can’t recall buying a ticket and have never been to Pennsylvania, never mind Transylvania. Without doubt, we would believe the Tempter when he promises us all our hearts’ desires if we would only follow him instead of Jesus. No, God knew what he was doing when he gave us doubt, and Jesus knew what he was doing when he scolded Thomas about being a doubter. I believe, like many things Jesus did, he did it to prove a point.

Imagine if Moses had just walked up to pharaoh, said, “Let my people go” and pharaoh agreed? The Israelites would have believed more in Moses than in God. But pharaoh doubted God’s power, and God showed both the Egyptians and the Israelites the power he had, demonstrating to the Israelites that it was God who delivered them from slavery.

Imagine if Jesus, upon hearing that Lazarus was ill, ran directly to his friend and helped heal him. Those who already believed in Jesus’ power would have been treated to another miracle. Jesus waited, though, let Lazarus die, and then went to raise him. Even his more ardent believes doubted this could be done. Jesus did it, though, hoping to prove that God was working through him to show he was there to guide humanity.

How many times did the Israelites doubt God was with them in the desert, and how many times did God show them that he was there, watching over their every movement? You would think that doubt would have been erased after the first dozen miracles or so.

I think that God has given us doubt so we can more richly experience the miracles he puts in our lives. He knows that the things that come too easy in our lives are not appreciated by the majority of us. We value the prize if we have to strive for it, not just have it handed to us. If we doubt God’s power and presence in our lives, we are reminded of it more deeply when he confirms his presence and demonstrates his power.

We pride ourselves on being rational and skeptical beings. God uses that to his advantage to show that, where he is concerned, we shouldn’t be.

Amen,
Michael Gow