Doubt

What does it take to eliminate all doubt?

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:16-20

You would think that when Jesus appears to the disciples after being resurrected, they would cease to doubt who he was.

We can understand someone doubting who has not seen him in the flesh, but having seen him, and talked with him, could they still think they were imagining it?

Doubt is a powerful force.

We can be faced with the glaring truth and still wonder if what we see and hear is real.  Yet, on the other hand, we may see something, like a video on social media, and immediately believe we understand what is happening.

I like to think of myself as a reasonable person, capable of thinking rationally and making good judgments, so I wonder how I would react if I witnessed something truly incredible.

Would I trust  my senses?

Or would I find it difficult to reconcile what I was experiencing with what my mind was telling me was possible?

For us, believers in the resurrected Jesus, the reaction of some of the disciples seems odd, because we know that what happened is truly possible.

But what if we were the first to experience such a thing?

Would we be so quick to believe our eyes?

It is easy to judge others until we find ourselves in a similar situation.  Then all bets are off.

Maybe we could use a little doubt these days, just to keep us from believing everything we see and hear.

More to come...