Not seeing, yet believing

John 20: 24-29

"You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who haven't seen me and believe anyway" (NLT)

Thomas, one of the Twelve was able to physically see, experience and touch the Risen One. We the disciples who come after him are not privileged in the same way. Yet, we are able to believe. Even though we do not see the Risen Christ in person, we do experience different ways of 'seeing' him in our journey of faith. We experience our Risen Lord frequently in the giftedness of life, in the answers to our urgent prayers, through the written Word coming to life in our hearts and many, many other graced moments in our daily lives.

However, there are times when even such experiences run dry. At those times we seem to 'see' nothing. Our experiences run counter to all we have known of God's goodness in our lives. We suffer from illnesses that will not go away, or from losses that seem to tear our lives apart. Those are times when even the promises of the Bible seem empty. Those are times when the words we read in Scripture seem to 'mock' us, as someone said to me the other day - recounting the time she lost her son in a tragic accident. Those who nevertheless believe amid such darkness are to be called blessed. Such faith is a gift of grace, one that cannot be driven out by events that seem to contradict it. Jesus calls us blessed, when we do not see, yet believe.

To hear with my heart

To see with my soul

To be guided by a hand I cannot hold

To trust in a way that I cannot see

That's what faith must be

(Michael Card)