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THE PENDULUM OF DOUBT #4
WHAT SAM DONALDSON BELIEVES IN
For years he's been the resident skeptic in Washington,
D.C. Other reporters might be swept off their story, suckered in by the
charms of a smooth-talking president or the trinkets and junkets offered
by a lobbyist, but not Mr. Sam Donaldson. Whether he's discussing impeachment
with Cokie Roberts and George Will on Sunday morning television or attending
a briefing where the press secretary tries to dodge hard questions, he's
never able to dodge them from Mr. Donaldson. He's always there, with that
interesting hair and that insistent voice: "Now, wait a minute, Mr.
President. What you just said doesn't square with such-and-such you said
last week."
A number of years ago, when Donaldson was really persecuting President
Reagan, a cartoonist showed a presidential motorcade driving through some
town. Harry S. Truman was sitting there in the limo, enjoying the cheers
and friendly waves of the crowd. Except that there's one little boy on
the front row, right there on the curb, sticking out his tongue at the
president, booing and giving him a six-year-old's very biggest raspberry.
And the caption has someone saying to the mother, "Really, Mrs. Donaldson,
you've GOT to do something about Sammy!"
Well, we pick on our favorite ABC correspondent for two reasons. First
of all, today, March 11, happens to be his 65th birthday. And I'd be very
surprised if the White House's prayers about his imminent retirement come
true any time soon.
But even more important, as we discuss the biblical topic of doubting,
of skepticism, of poking holes in what other people claim to be the truth,
a person like Mr. Donaldson comes rather quickly to mind. Skepticism in
a democracy is actually a pretty good thing. Even most presidential press
secretaries have conceded, usually after they leave the White House, that
a guy like Sam Donaldson is just doing his job.
But you know, for 2000 years now, Christians have kind of picked on the
Sam Donaldson of the New Testament. The skeptic in Jesus' entourage. The
man who piped up to say he wasn't yet convinced. And of course, I'm referring
to the disciple Thomas. Doubting Thomas.
It's rather interesting, if you backtrack from the crucifixion just a
bit, because over in John chapter 11 is a reference to this man Thomas.
Jesus and His 12 disciples have just talked about the dangers of heading
back into Judea, where His enemies are lying in wait. But Lazarus is deathly
ill, and finally Jesus says that they're going. Right into the jaws of
danger, as one commentary puts it. And lo and behold, it's this Thomas,
also called Didymus, who says to the others, referring to Jesus:
"Let us also go, that we may die with Him."
So here he shows some holy boldness, a real spirit of devotion and self-sacrifice.
He's ready to die for his Master. But in the chapter where he gets his
never-to-be-shed nickname, John 20, it's a much different story. Jesus
has died, with all 11 disciples (after Judas) fleeing for the hills. They're
in hiding; they've all chickened out. But now on Sunday, the other ten
men have seen the risen Lord! Jesus is alive! The news is sweeping through
the ranks; there's excitement and celebration everywhere!
Except in the heart of this one man. Doubting Thomas just can't believe
that it's true. There's no way. And he says to the others, maybe with
some bitterness:
"Unless I see the nail marks in His hands
and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into His side,
I will not believe it."
It must have hurt to be all by himself on this one.
Everyone else is excited, rejoicing, embracing the good news. And Thomas
is the only one left out of the party. He's the resident skeptic, the
Sam Donaldson of 31 A.D.
We noticed another birthday happening today. Antonin Scalia, the maverick
U.S. Supreme Court Justice, is just two years behind Donaldson; he turns
63 as you're hearing this. And he's been kind of a loner on the high court
bench; he's often been the solitary defender of a legal position that
went eight-to-one against him. He's the doubter, the solitary holdout,
the one who doesn't see things the same as the others.
Well, as we move from bad news to good news here in John 20, there's another
meeting a week later, and this time Thomas is there in the room. And there's
this tender moment where the risen Lord, Jesus, says to His doubting Thomas:
"Put your finger here; see My hands. Reach
out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe."
And now, Thomas, ashamed of his earlier fears, falls down in worship.
"My Lord and my God!" And Jesus, very forgiving, but with a
quiet message still to deliver, says to His errant follower:
"Because you have seen Me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have NOT seen and yet have believed."
And I invite you to think with me about how this man Thomas doubted, and
about the ways that WE doubt too. That's our title for this week: THE
PENDULUM OF DOUBT, referring to the way our feelings and convictions sway
this way and that. Is Jesus alive? Is He on heaven's throne right now?
Is He coming again soon? On Wednesday we think yes, but just a day later,
here on Sam Donaldson's birthday, we're not so sure. We go back and forth.
But you know, there's one lesson for sure we should learn from Thomas.
And that's this: REASON would be one of the last things we would trust
in pushing our doubts away. We think to ourselves: "I can figure
this out. In my own mind, I can resolve this question." And certainly
we want to use our minds, our reasoning powers. But notice with me that
if reason were the best guide, Thomas would have been CONFIRMED in his
doubts!
Isn't that right? This Man you've been following for three-and-a-half
years is suddenly alive again . . . after being dead all weekend? Come
on, does that make sense? Does REASON tell you it's possible? Does that
stack up to what we know of human physiology and the coroner's report?
No! Friends, in the spiritual realm, reason is a good tool, but it's certainly
not the final tool.
What SHOULD Thomas have used as the safest guides for banishing his doubts?
Well, let's notice that he — and we — should place our supreme confidence
in the Word of God. The prophecies of Scripture, even back then, clearly
stated that the Son of God was going to rise up in triumph. Thomas had
studied those words at the feet of Jesus Himself. If you read this same
Bible story, but over in Luke's rendering of it, chapter 24 has the risen
Christ walking, unrecognized, with two disciples down the road to Emmaus.
And they're discouraged; they're in despair and doubting. They trusted
their reason and now all is lost. And Jesus takes them right through the
Bible's prophecies, and almost chides them: "Come on! You guys should
have already known this. It's all right here." He taught them the
FACTS, "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets," Luke writes.
So that's one sure foundation: God's Word. Second would be Thomas' own
relationship with Jesus. He'd been with Him for those three-plus years.
He knew and believed that Christ was the Messiah. He'd heard Jesus SAY
He would be raised up the third day. He would have done better trusting
that relationship, that friendship, those sure words, than to believe
his own REASON, what his discouraged heart was telling him.
One more good doubt-destroyer, for Thomas and for us, should be this:
the testimony of our fellow believers. The Bible talks in Hebrews 12 about
a "great cloud of witnesses," the multitude of others who also
believe in the resurrected Christ. Thomas had their compelling eyewitness
account that Jesus was alive: his best friends told him so by a ten-to-nothing
score. But he didn't believe them either.
So friend, these are lessons for us. We have God's Word, which is always
sure despite our wobbly feelings. We have our daily relationship with
Jesus Himself, and the reliable promptings of the Holy Spirit which always
agree with that Bible. And we have the encouraging word of many solid
Christian brothers and sisters, who have also placed their faith in the
resurrected Savior, our Redeemer.
On the other hand, we have reason. A good tool, but certainly not the
BEST tool. And let me tell you one more less-than-reliable support system:
our own eyes.
Thomas said to the others: "Look, unless I see it for myself, I won't
believe it." He put his 20-20 vision ahead of the Bible's promises.
And you know, Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew chapter 24, that we might
make a fatal mistake doing like Thomas and trusting in our EYES. There
will be false christs, He warns us, and false Messiahs, especially in
these last days. We'll see them with our own eyes. We'll witness what
appear to be bonafide miracles occurring. Signs and wonders. And He tells
us that "(quote) even the very elect will be deceived." It's
hard to look up at heaven and say, "Lord, I'll trust Your sure Word,
Your Bible, even ahead of my own two eyes." But that's what the story
of Thomas teaches us to do.
But we close with good news. Because Jesus loves His doubting children.
He still loved and accepted Thomas. In fact, He went along with his childlike
need for proof. "Here," He said softly. "You need to feel
the scars? Here's My hand, Thomas. Feel if you need to." He takes
us with our childish fears, our doubts, our misguided trust in our reasoning
powers, and then lifts us up to mature faith.
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