{"id":4834,"date":"2017-09-06T14:12:25","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T19:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/?p=4834"},"modified":"2017-09-06T14:12:25","modified_gmt":"2017-09-06T19:12:25","slug":"faith-hope-unbeliever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/09\/06\/faith-hope-unbeliever\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith and Hope for an Unbeliever"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Bill Watkins<\/strong>
\n\u201cHe\u2019s gone and he\u2019s not coming back. No one comes back. I love him as much as any of you, but I won\u2019t spend the rest of my life waiting for something that will never happen.\u201d<\/em>
\nWe don\u2019t know whether Thomas said these words, but he could have. He loved Jesus enough to have died with him (John 11:16), but he was not about to live in denial. Let the rest of his companions hold on to the ridiculous notion that he was coming back.
\n\u201cDead is dead and no amount of foolish wishing can change that.\u201d<\/em>
\nThe problem for Thomas is not doubt. It is unbelief. The Bible never calls Thomas a doubter. It calls him an unbeliever. (John 20:27-29)
\nThomas was there. He was always there. He was there when Jesus fed the five thousand, walked on water, raised Lazarus, was taken in the garden, and when he bled, and cried, and died on the cross. He saw the back that had been laid open by the flagrum. He winced when he saw the spear pierce Jesus and witnessed the blood pour out with his own eyes. Thomas knew that no one who had been so abused could ever come back.
\nOn the first Sunday after Jesus died, women came in the morning from the tomb with the news that it was empty and angels had told them Jesus was risen.
\n\u201cLet Peter and John run to the tomb. Nothing can change what I\u2019ve seen.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/em>Later in the morning, Mary Magdalene came to say that she had actually seen and spoken to the Lord.
\n\u201cMaybe her demons are coming back.\u201c<\/em>
\nWhen two disciples came that evening from Emmaus, Thomas was there (Luke 24:33 and cf. Mark 16:12-13). They began to tell of a strange encounter with Jesus on the road. They said it was Jesus, but he didn\u2019t look the same.
\n\u201cEnough is enough! I\u2019m grieving too,but I refuse to be delusional.\u201d<\/em>
\nThomas refused to believe and left. Had he stayed, he would have seen Jesus himself before the two had a chance to finish their story (compare Luke 24: 33-36 to John 20:24).
\nWhen the apostles breathlessly told him that Christ had come into the room just after he left, he felt that he needed to help them return to reality.
\n\u201cCan any of you prove that someone actually was there? If someone really did show up, did any of you have the presence of mind to test and see if this person was actually Jesus?\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cUnless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.\u201d<\/em> (John 20:25)
\nEight days later, Thomas is still there. He may be unbelieving, but he\u2019s loyal. \u201cYou don\u2019t give up on your friends just because they aren\u2019t thinking clearly.\u201d Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, \u201cPeace to you!\u201d<\/em> Then He said to Thomas, \u201cReach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.\u201d<\/em>
\nAnd Thomas answered and said to Him, \u201cMy Lord and my God!\u201d<\/em> (John 20:26-28)
\n\u201cHe did come back! Nothing is impossible for Him! I believe!\u201d<\/em>
\nJesus said to him, \u201cThomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.\u201d<\/em> (John 20:29)
\nI\u2019m thankful for Thomas. I\u2019m glad that he demanded proof. Because of his absolute refusal to accept anything less than empirical evidence, I have greater hope and faith. I have not seen and yet have believed.
\nBecause Jesus lives, everything he ever promised will come true. We are not alone (Matthew 28:20). All things are working together for our good (Romans 8:28). We are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). His peace is for real (Philippians 4:6-8). He\u2019s really coming back to take us home (John 14:1-3). These promises, and so many more, are verified by a resurrection that actually occurred.
\nBecause Jesus really rose, nothing is impossible. My life, the future, the state of the world, my family, my feeble efforts\u2014nothing is impossible! Addictions, sorrow, and brokenness do not have to be forever. We live in hope because we serve a risen Lord.
\n 
\n 
\n 
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Bill Watkins \u201cHe\u2019s gone and he\u2019s not coming back. No one comes back. I love him as much as any of you, but I won\u2019t spend the rest of my life waiting for something that will never happen.\u201d We don\u2019t know whether Thomas said these words, but he could have. He loved Jesus enough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,66],"tags":[898,929,930,61,626,901,902,931,932,933],"class_list":["post-4834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-living","category-think-excerpts","tag-898","tag-bill-watkins","tag-daily-walk","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-january","tag-january-2006","tag-thomas","tag-unbelief","tag-unbeliever","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nFaith and Hope for an Unbeliever - Focus Press<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tampaseo.expert\/focus\/2017\/09\/06\/faith-hope-unbeliever\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Faith and Hope for an Unbeliever - Focus Press\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Bill Watkins \u201cHe\u2019s gone and he\u2019s not coming back. 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