It’s the rest of the story and it’s for those of us who have never seen Jesus walking around in our neighborhood (and for those who’ve seen Him in a tortilla or on a Pizza Hut billboard).  After Thomas said to and about Jesus, My Lord and my God! Jesus replied, Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Those who believe without seeing are blessed (John 20:29).  I say, “Hey, that’s me!” I haven’t seen Jesus in the flesh (nor in a tortilla–or Elvis, for that matter).  Yet I believe that He’s alive and that He’s made me alive in Him. Should I feel like I’ve missed something? Do you?

We live in a day when people really want to see things.  We’ve all taken Missouri’s state motto to heart, “show me!”  Here’s a little trivia for you. Do you know how Missouri got that motto? One of her congressmen, Hillard Duncan Vandiver, speaking in Philadelphia in 1899 said this: Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me!”  I think it would be nice to have seen Jesus in the flesh, but perhaps His impact is greater because we didn’t see Him physically (Remember, Peter saw Jesus a lot–before he denied Him).  I think that’s what Jesus suggests to Thomas–Those who believe without seeing are blessed. 

Though we don’t have the same access to Him physically, we are able to know Him in a way that’s just as powerful and convincing–by Faith! The apostle Paul goes so far as to say we live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).  So we come to know the Risen and Living Jesus, not by seeing His flesh, but by faith, when the Good News is shared with us.  Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).  We can’t see Him physically, but we can know Him personally.  Peter writes, You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9).  You could miss Him; but not because you can’t see Him. You’ll only miss Him if you refuse to meet Him, by faith.   I hope there’s a Jesus Sighting–by faith–in your future.

For by God’s grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift (Ephesians 2:8)

blessings,

pastor greg