Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
- John 20:26-29
If you had to pick who was more spiritually empowered and blessed by God, would you choose yourself, or the Apostle Peter? How about Paul? Or even the little-mentioned Bartholomew? I’ve got to admit, my first thought is to pick the apostles. They hand first-hand experience of Jesus’ miracles, teaching, and resurrection. Of course they had a closer connection to him than we do here and now, a few thousand years distant from his life on earth. Right?
According to Jesus, no. In fact, Jesus’ perspective is the absolute opposite. He says to Thomas (of doubting fame) after his resurrection, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Meditate on those words for a moment. You, follower of Jesus here in the 21st century, are somehow blessed above and beyond those who saw Jesus in the flesh. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
If you’re like me then when you read scripture your tendency is to think “if only I had been there.” We need to get away from that kind of thinking and revel instead in the fact that Jesus is, in a way, even more present with us now than he was during his years physically on the earth. He told those first disciples, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)
You are blessed with the indwelling Spirit of Christ. The same miraculous Son of God who walked with Peter, John, and the rest of the disciples in first century Israel, walks – or probably more accurately, drives – with you today as you head to work or to run errands, as you talk with neighbors, as you lay down to sleep. Believe it. You are blessed beyond measure. You have everything you need to live the life God has prepared for you. As the Apostle Peter wrote, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3) No need to go seeking for more. You’re blessed with all that you need for this life. Live like it.
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