Day 8 Thomas Doubts Jesus is Alive, but Jesus Encourages, Instructs & Challenges!

God Is Just Like Jesus

I love this episode because we see 1 of the 12 Disciples that are the closest followers of Jesus struggle with Doubt!
Many people wrestle with feelings of doubt and lack of belief in Jesus/God. And sometimes people get under condemnation about it or feel like they aren't good enough. We need to get away from those feelings and look at how Jesus responded to Thomas and his doubt.
When Thomas was failing to believe Jesus words that He would rise from the dead, Jesus appears and He doesn't reject Thomas or criticize him or get moody with him. Jesus directly instructs Thomas and challenges him to touch His hands and feet and to "believe."
When we remove the fear of rejection by Jesus (or God) we can "receive" the correction or challenge like we would from a great Soccer or Football Coach and grow from it rather than being depressed by it.
And this is exactly what Jesus wants. Jesus doesn't want Thomas feeling bad and pulling back. He wants Thomas to receive the correction and lean in and trust Jesus deeper.
Most of our parenting is so messed up that we don't realize that "the goal of discipline is never to feel bad, but to change and grow." However, so much of our culture has elements of dysfunction and immaturity in it - we really think (or feel) that the goal of Parenting is that the child would "feel bad." That rarely brings good growth. We want the emphasis on changing for the better not on feeling bad.
Watch Jesus. He challenges and corrects the disciples so that they will turn, change and grow. Jesus isn't interested in us feeling bad or getting under condemnation, but He is completely interested in us repenting (changing) and growing in goodness!
Once again, Jesus is totally Emotionally Healthy. He is awesome and wants the best for each and every one of us!
And.... God is Just like Jesus - "If you have seen Me [Jesus], you have seen the Father [God}" - John 14:9
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