There's this, "doubt filter" that we have as humans. However, one has to be careful
not to set the threshold too high! LOL! In his over 3 years of face-to-face
association with Jesus, the Apostle Thomas made good use of his doubt filter and
the Master [Jesus] appreciated that about him. A lot of people do not know this...
"Thomas the doubter" should be taken in good stride.
“Thomas was the eighth apostle, and he was chosen by Philip. In later times he
has become known as “doubting Thomas,” but his fellow apostles hardly looked
upon him as a chronic doubter. True, his was a logical, skeptical type of mind, but
he had a form of courageous loyalty which forbade those who knew him intimately
to regard him as a trifling skeptic.” - Urantia Book 139:8.1
“Jesus enjoyed Thomas very much and had many long, personal talks with him.
His presence among the apostles was a great comfort to all honest doubters and
encouraged many troubled minds to come into the kingdom, even if they could not
wholly understand everything about the spiritual and philosophic phases of the
teachings of Jesus. Thomas’s membership in the twelve was a standing declaration
that Jesus loved even honest doubters.” - Urantia Book 139:8.6
The doubt filter has its place. It helps us to apply caution and patience. You do not
have to be in a hurry to accepting anything or rejecting anything. You take your
time... Do your homework. Ask questions. Honestly seek for answers...
Doubt is a must. We are confronted with it at different times, in one area of life or
the other. An important question is, "What do we do when faced with doubt?" It is
important to use that "doubt experience" as an opportunity to pray, to meditate,
to investigate, to study, to learn, and to grow! When confronted with doubt, we
shouldn't grow cold feet... We should tackle the challenge head on! And with open
hearts to God’s truth and divine insight, our doubts would be clarified. Doubts will
give way to faith - unshakeable faith. Our “faith” would then grow and evolve and
become actual, factual reality.
And Jesus puts it quite nicely, "There is but one struggle for those who enter the
kingdom, and that is to fight the good fight of faith. The believer has only one
battle, and that is against doubt - unbelief."
No comments:
Post a Comment