Devotional -

Touch His Scars ( 6 April )

About this Devotional
One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (called the Twin), was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the scars of the nails in his hands and put my finger on those scars and my hand in his side, I will not believe." A week later the disciples were together again indoors, and Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands; then reach out your hand and put it in my side. Stop your doubting, and believe!" Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
John 20:24-28

So often when we read this story, all that catches our attention is "doubting Thomas." It's true, Thomas did doubt, but there's so much more to his response than just doubt. Thomas had seen the Lord daily and followed him. When Jesus told his disciples that he was going back to Jerusalem because Lazarus had died, Thomas's response showed his devotion to his master, "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (John 11:16). Thomas was devoted to Jesus and wanted to support him in whatever he was doing, even unto death. So, when Jesus died on the cross, Thomas must have been devastated. He hadn't expected things to go this way. Perhaps he had imagined the need to be martyred together, but he surely hadn't thought that Jesus would leave him suddenly. Why wasn't Thomas in the upper room with the others? Perhaps he was off by himself, grieving the loss and deep disappointment.

So often we tell God our plans or we ask something specific from God, but he doesn't always answer the way we expect and we feel disappointed, even rejected. It seems sometimes like God doesn't care. Maybe we separate ourselves from other believers thinking that no one could understand and no one cares.

Thomas asked to see the proof of the Lord's suffering for him. He asked to see that God, in the person of Jesus, really loved him, cared for him, and bore the scars to prove it. He wanted to touch the scars. He wanted tangible evidence of Jesus' faithfulness to him.

When my mother was a young woman, dying from cancer, I prayed for God to heal her, but she passed away. Then I needed to make a choice. I could be angry with God for not answering my prayer in "my way," or I could "touch the scars in his hands" and know that he loved me so much that he died for me. Jesus did not forbid Thomas to touch his scars; rather he said, "Reach your finger here … and believe."

Jesus is saying to us, "My beloved, reach your finger here, touch my scars and know my love for you." Only through knowing his sacrifice for me, can I know his great love.

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

- 6 APRIL -