THE THOUGHT TODAY

22/ 06 / 09
Beyond Affirmation
John 21: 26-29

In my last reflection I wrote of rain in due season and the affirmation which I received that the issue
or difficulty that troubled me would be resolved: the sprinkling of rain falling “out or nowhere”,
like manna to the Israelites in the desert. As I go through my day and I struggle with the orders of
the day I sometimes find myself looking up for that light sprinkling from above.

As I walked in my garden on Sunday afternoon the thought came to me. Has this reassurance
through the falling rain now become a crutch instead of a source of strength and affirmation of
God’s eternal blessing? Very often, we come to rely so heavily on a particular experience of
blessing from God, that we lose sight of or miss out on the potential for greater gifts or deeper
knowing of the ways of God.

My reflections on this matter took me back to the familiar story of Jesus and the doubting Thomas
in John 20:26-29. Thomas, who had offered to die with Lazarus, was not with the disciples when
Jesus appeared to them after his resurrection. With disdain he asked “ Jesus alive? Unless I could
push my hand through his side, I won’t believe”. Imagine his consternation when Jesus appeared,
repeated Thomas’ words then asked Thomas to push his hands into his side. When Thomas said in
recognition “my Lord and my God’, Jesus chided him. “Do you now believe I am alive because you
have seen me?” Then came this telling statement from Jesus. “Blessed are they who have not seen
and yet have believed”.

The force of the story hit me like a rock. I asked myself, have I become guilty, like Thomas, of
looking for a physical manifestation or reassurance from God? Do I have the faith to trust wholly in
God’s goodness in every situation so that I don’t need ‘the crutch of a physical manifestation’ to
know that God is omnipresent and available in every circumstance?

Yes, the true test of our faith, is our believing, beyond physical affirmation and evidence, in the
ever present goodness of God through a faith which makes even the seemingly “impossible” ,
possible.

I trust that as we make our life journeys, we rely not on mere physical evidence but rest assured of
the omnipresence of God’s goodness in or out of season, whether due or not.

Today.

Ashley R Cain
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