I have always taken great interest in the story of Thomas and his doubt. I have often identified with it and appreciated it. God did not condemn Thomas for his doubt and chose instead to lovingly show Thomas what he needed to see. Where the typical Evangelical would condemn any ounce of doubt all too quickly, I have always interpreted this story as meaning God is not bothered by our doubts. But unfortunately, it has probably too often given me a reason to continue on in my doubt and skepticism.

I've often seen myself as full of doubt, and for some reason I've even taken pride in it. Thomas quickly became my hero, especially because he didn't get in trouble.

For me, the point of the story has always revolved around the doubt. And while I think this is an important part of the story--God is patient in our doubts and willing to reveal himself in ways that we need--God never meant to justify a doubting, skeptic mindset. There's another point to the story.

I've realized recently that the most important and profound part of the story is that Thomas DOES believe.

This doesn't strike most people, because most Christians are willing to believe rather easily without asking questions, especially if they are given specific evidence they feel they need. Thomas sees his Lord, feels the holes in his hands, and finally recognizes Christ's resurrection: "Of course!" we think.

But there are plenty of people in our world (and I'm finding I can at times be included in this group) who refuse to believe, even after ample proof is provided. They are truly doubters, complete skeptics. Their minds are made up and they refuse to bend. Many of these people would have seen Christ offering the holes in his hands as proof and would have responded, "I don't believe it...There could be another explanation...What are the others saying?"

It is truly profound, then, that a skeptic like Thomas believed that Christ was the Messiah in the first place. And it is also just as profound that he believed Christ had risen from the dead when he was given proof. We can't take this for granted! For example, the Pharisees asked all sorts of questions and were given all the evidence they needed, but continued to doubt and refused to change their minds.

And so, Thomas's story shows us one important, stark contrast between the Pharisees and Disciples: the ability to at some point or another say, "Yes. I believe."

Thomas did not stubbornly insist on remaining in his state of disbelief, a tempting thing to do for any skeptic intellectual. Instead, he was humble enough to allow his thoughts to be changed when ample evidence was provided.

If the postmodern generation sees Thomas as a hero, may it not be they see him as a doubter and a skeptic. He was not! May Thomas be a hero because he struggled with doubt and was willing to honestly admit those doubts, and more importantly because he was willing to believe and take a bold stance once Christ revealed himself. He asked questions not for the sake of asking questions, but to get the answers and act upon them.

May we admire Thomas because he was willing to say, sooner or later, "I believe."