living proof

^{19 -20}Later on that day, the disciples had gathered together, but, fearful of the Jews, had locked all the doors in the house. Jesus entered, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you." Then he showed them his hands and side. ^{20 -21}The disciples, seeing the Master with their own eyes, were exuberant. Jesus repeated his greeting: "Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you." ^{22 -23}Then he took a deep breath and breathed into them. "Receive the Holy Spirit," he said. "If you forgive someone's sins, they're gone for good. If you don't forgive sins, what are you going to do with them?" ^{24 -25}But Thomas, sometimes called the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, "We saw the Master." But he said, "Unless I see the nail holes in his hands, put my finger in the nail holes, and stick my hand in his side, I won't believe it." ²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were again in the room. This time Thomas was with them. Jesus came through the locked doors, stood among them, and said, "Peace to you." ²⁷Then he focused his attention on Thomas. "Take your finger and examine my hands. Take your hand and stick it in my side. Don't be unbelieving. Believe." ²⁸Thomas said, "My Master! My God!" ²⁹Jesus said, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." ^{30 -31}Jesus provided far more God-revealing signs than are written down in this book. These are written down so you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and in the act of believing, have real and eternal life in the way he personally revealed it.

John 20

i think we all wish we could see the nail holes in his hands, put our finger in the nail holes, and stick our hand in his side. to be sure. to be positive. to really believe. i think there's so many times in our lives where we want Jesus to be here physically, so that we can touch Him and wrap our arms around Him. it's so hard sometimes, when the world wants nothing to do with Him. when they demand proof and make Him out to be a joke. we cry out sometimes that He would reveal Himself to everyone so they can see the holes and touch them. Jesus says in the passage, "So, you believe because you've seen with your own eyes. Even better blessings are in store for those who believe without seeing." if we thought that thomas was blessed to see Jesus and get to touch Him after being resurrected, we realize from this verse that we are far more blessed than thomas because we believe in Jesus without being able to see Him. it requires even more faith and trust in the Lord and He knows and acknowledges that! then it comes back to us, if we live life believing without seeing, we live a life of faith and trust in the Lord, and we are blessed because of that. this stands out in a world that only believes through seeing. this sticks out as a sore thumb in a world that demands for logic and proof and tangible things for it to touch. the world demands ideas that they can comprehend and fit inside their minds. there is a line from a song from as cities burn that goes, "is your love really love? is my love really love? i think our love isn't love unless it's love to the end. is your god really god? is my god really god? i think our god isn't god if he fits inside our heads." in other words, if we can reduce God to what we can comprehend, we overlook how amazing and over our heads he is and the world hates that. but then how can we show the world Jesus's holes and scars? our proof. it's through our own healed holes and scars. healed by Jesus Christ. through His real love. through His real life. through His real salvation. through His real death, resurrection, and ascension. and because of our healed holes and scars, we're living witnesses to the world of how Jesus saves and heals and redeems. we're His proof that He exists. i want to encourage every Christ follower to remember that we are His proof and we should try our best to live honoring that.