Seeing and Believing

In our Fourth Gospel the famous story of the disciple Thomas not believing in the resurrection until he actually sees the risen Lord is related. A disciple, who had seen many wonders, a disciple of great loyalty who on a former occasion pledged his willingness to die with Jesus, still found the resurrection incredible, until he saw, and then believed.

Jesus said on this occasion, "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

In the matter of faith I certainly do not think that Christian faith consists in a list of hard-to-believe wondrous events of long ago which the person of faith nevertheless says he believes in.

Probably most people actually do mean this sort of list of implausibles when they speak of "their faith" or "the Christian faith."

I however consider that faith is simply trust in God. Very likely the old saying that "seeing is believing" should be reversed in the case of religious experience: when you believe, then you can see.

Pretty facile, this. Sorry. It's my idea that the faith -- that is, the trust in God-- most naturally precedes any particulars. Throughout the Bible even the mighty men of God like Gideon have been notably deficient in their trust of God. Over and over Gideon asks for various "signs", basically divine magic tricks. The Almighty plays along: He was more a Good Ol' Boy back then. Well, don't put God to the test! He doesn't like it.

Still, it has been my personal experience that if you read scripture and open your heart, and let that trust come, it will come.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.