Yet, I Believe

"I would have believed Him, had I been there."
"Why? Jesus looked like any other man;
The same uncertain means, and robe threadbare;
His words but copies of those that clan,
The self-styled messiahs, always declaim!
How preposterous! As if we who heard
Would believe, no matter how wild the claim!
Had you seen the thorn-crown His head engird,
You would have despised Him, as did the rest!
When He failed from the cross Himself to free,
Despite the claims that He had cripples blessed,
Resurrected dead, and walked on the sea!"
"Yet, I believe, without hearing or seeing;
My soul knows its Maker, and my being."

John tells us the story of the apostle Thomas, who was absent when Jesus appeared to the other apostles after His resurrection. When those who had seen and recognized the Lord alive told Thomas, he said emphatically he would not believe Jesus lived again unless he could feel the scars of the nails in His hands. A week later, Jesus re-appeared to them, and this time Thomas was present. Jesus allowed him to feel the scars in His hands and side. Thomas did so, and immediately he bowed and called Him Lord and God.

"Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29)

Because we live 2000 years after Jesus lived on earth, we have not seen Him with our eyes. Nevertheless, millions of people believe. The total estimate of the number of Christians in the world that I last saw is 1.7 billion; presumably none of these has seen Him, yet, they believe.

Some, however, are like Thomas. It is more difficult to believe for them. But Jesus said if we believed without seeing, we would be blessed. I wish at times that God would show Himself to us in a dramatic appearance in the sky so that it would be easier for people to believe, but then I realize that it would defeat God's purpose. He does not want science to prove His existence; He wants people to accept Him on faith alone. Faith is the "pure gold tried in the fire" that gains our entrance into heaven; that is what pleases God.