It is possible to love the Lord and still be plagued with doubts and unbelief. Thomas seemed to have exemplified this assertion. Apart from the time of his enlistment as a disciple, the first mention of him was when Jesus was about going to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. During His previous visit, attempts had been made on Jesus’ life; so the disciples did not deem it safe to make the trip and did not hide that from Him. Here was Thomas’ reaction about that journey: “Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.”” John 11:16 NKJV. Here is love mingled with unbelief. It was unbelief because Thomas never believed that Jesus would make it back alive; and it was love because he offered to die with the Master.
The next time he was mentioned, there was also a reflection of doubt. After listening to Jesus for a long time, Thomas still doubted where the Master claimed He was going. “Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”” John 14:5 NKJV. Now, to our text, Jesus presented Himself to the ten disciples after His resurrection. When they told Thomas that they had seen the Lord, he flagrantly refused to believe. The Law accepts the witness of two or three persons to establish any matter. Thomas had ten witnesses, yet he was not convinced. That tells you the degree of his unbelief. How could Jesus have worked with such a fellow? This paints a picture of the tolerance level of the Lord. There is a ‘Thomas’ in many of us. Perhaps, many of us do not have a better scorecard than Thomas. We love Him but are constantly in doubt. It is for His mercies that we are not excluded from His schemes.