Is it me? Oftentimes we ask ourselves this question silently in our minds. When relationships end, or hit a rough patch, we ask ourselves, “Is it me?”; that caused this thing to end, stumble, or the other person to walk away. Sometimes when we’re going through a rough patch in life where our faith is tested, we’ll ask ourselves and God, “is it me” that caused these events, or troubles. The bible is filled with scriptures that tell stories of individuals that endured, stumbled, failed, died, or triumphed in the face of troubles. Many of us read the bible like its a storybook full of fairy tales, or stories that may or may not have happened, and feel like they have no relevance to our lives or the present times. In this series I want to highlight passages and the people in those passages to hopefully help you see yourself in the passage. The bible is a mirror where while reading it, we should be able to see ourselves more clearly, the scriptures should speak to us and help to reveal some blindspots and cracks in our structure that can only be realized and repaired through a study of the word, and the help of God. In the passages, I want you to assess/analyze each of the characters in the passage, and after evaluating their actions in the midst of the situation, I want you to ask yourself, “Is it me?” To often we judge people of the bible for the foolishness, unbelief, lack of faith, weakness, etc, only because we know the outcome of the story, but if we are honest with ourselves, we are actually worse than them because we are able to see/read what God has done for others, promised to do for us, but still lack the faith that he CAN and WILL do it for us!
27Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 28“My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 29Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” John 20:27-29
I reference the verse above because I want you all to understand something about the verse; “Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” I want to add another layer to this point that Jesus made, “Blessed are those who continue to believe, pray, and walk/act faithfully without seeing, feeling, or recognizing the presence and hand of Jesus in their situation.” We will take a look at “Doubting Thomas” as he is unfairly known in a later post, but as you read the upcoming posts, and hopefully the full passages associated with each, I pray that you honestly ask yourself “Is it me?”
Reflection Time
When I read the scriptures am I reading for knowledge, understanding, wisdom, clarity, or simple enjoyment? What person from the bible do I relate to most in terms of faith, weaknesses, mistakes, triumphs, etc? Do I have a passage from the bible, or person in the bible that I can refer to, or look to when I might be facing a similar circumstance or testing of faith?
