In my three meditations this week, I should like to share with you some thoughts about Thomas, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples. I suppose I am particularly drawn to him, because we learn in the New Testament that he was a twin, a position that I hold in my family!.

A Christian author wrote of Thomas, ‘We do not know whose twin he was, but there are times when all of us seem to be his twin, when we consider our unbelief’. Thomas must have had many commendable features to be chosen by Jesus to be one of the twelve disciples. Nevertheless, he was not without his faults and he had to learn many lessons on the pathway that he travelled with the Lord. We will not note these in a negative way, but to learn from them in our Christian pathways.

On one occasion he was with Jesus and His disciples, when they received news of the sickness and death of a friend, named Lazarus, from Bethany in Judaea. They were concerned at Jesus’s suggestion that they should all go to Bethany. They challenged His plan, pointing out the dangers: ‘Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are you going there again?’, John chapter 11 verse 8. They failed to grasp what Jesus meant by referring to death as ‘sleep’ and did not consider the possibility that He could raise Lazarus from the dead. Thomas shared their misgivings and the weakness of their faith, although he did not lack courage. He suggested to his fellow-disciples, ‘Let us also go that we may die with Him’, John chapter 11 verse 16. He did not always have the strength of faith to believe that their journeys would have successful outcomes but he was prepared to lay down his life for the cause.

He challenges us to pray, ‘Lord, increase our faith’, when we are faced with challenging circumstances to which there appear to be no answers. Keep trusting, keep praying. Please contact us and we will gladly send you a Bible. We will pray for you. Come back again for another Message of Hope.