Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ —
It is truly a blessing that we get to come together in worship to receive the wonderful gifts of God. We
receive forgiveness, salvation, and life everlasting through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Recently here at Our Redeemer we had a reading in church on “doubting” Thomas. It connected wonderfully with our theme for this year “Lord I believe, Help My Unbelief” and I wanted to take this chance to encourage you once more. Doubt truly does have a way of sneaking into our lives when we’re vulnerable and feeling lost. Just look at Thomas. Jesus, his trusted teacher and messiah, had just been killed on the cross. Thomas as well as the rest of the disciples were devastated at this. So when Thomas makes his demand to see Jesus, when he doubts the disciples, to us it may make sense. At least at first.
That’s the thing about doubt. It feels like it makes sense, like its natural to doubt. But we know as Christians that it is not natural. It is sinful. And in our sinful nature it becomes normal to doubt. Thanks be to God that we are not left in our doubt. Like Thomas we can proclaim “My Lord and My God!” As John wrote at the end of his book, “These things are written that you may believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” We have a glorious, wonderful hope in the resurrection of Christ and we hear about that hope every Sunday in church. In this Easter season we proclaim that Christ has indeed risen! We can bring all of our doubts and sin to the foot of the cross. Sin, death, and the devil did not get the final word. Jesus our Lord said it best when He stated on the cross, “It is finished”. No matter what life may have in store for us we have a loving God who gave His one and only Son so that we may believe and have eternal life! May we keep this truth in our hearts and in our prayers.
Blessings in Christ, Vicar Garrett