Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Be Not Like The Doubting Thomas

The gospel of St. John 20:26-31 is one of my favorite Bible verses that accounts the doubting Thomas. A week after Christ death on the cross, His disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!". But despite GOD's awesome presence in their midst, Thomas failed to believe it was the Risen Christ. He asked if He can see and touch Jesus wounds so He will be convinced. Then God said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

Many of us act like the doubting Thomas. Like him who asked for a sign to confirm if it was really JESUS whom he is speaking with, often in our prayers we did not content ourselves with enough faith to believe but ask GOD for confirmations through signs. We wanted to make sure. That's why we set conditions. Like Thomas, we wanted to see Jesus wounds. Sign for Thomas is his condition to believe Jesus. Thomas faith is conditional, and so ours.

Three years ago, when I am seriously seeking my state-of-life discernment, I remembered praying to GOD that if He wanted me to become a priest, He will allow me to dream of heaven. Heaven for me is my condition of faith. No wonder I did not enter the seminary. My faith is not enough to believe GOD unconditionally. I have prematurely set a condition to believe my GOD whose love for me is unconditional. I did not realize that true faith is a commitment to believe to a Personal Saviour.

I loved it when St. Teresa of Avila prayed for GOD to give her the faith to believe and not signs to confirm her prayers. In our human desperation to see outright answers to our pleas, we failed to meditate that God answers our prayers in three ways - yes, no, and wait. God sometimes easily grants the desire of our hearts, sometimes He sent a vague reply of not granting our prayers. And sometimes, He answers it with delays and wants us to wait on his appointed time.

As Christians, may we all learn from the pious Saint. From now on, let us pray for the gift of faith to believe GOD's ways in answering our prayers rather than asking signs to confirm GOD'S answers to our petitions

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