March 29, 2016

“Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin,[d] was not with them when Jesus came. John 20:24

Thomas was away – he was not with the other disciples. I guess it does not matter why, we all have excuses for not being with the Lord, not being in church, not being present when the big things happen in the family, in our jobs, or in our relationships. We all have excuses.

The problem with excuses is they usually don’t hold up to scrutiny compared to the importance of the event that demanded our presence. In other words, most excuses are poor excuses. This may have not been the case with Thomas, we will never know. But since the disciples were so afraid, so concerned, so confused with the events following the resurrection, whatever kept him away must have been significant – not just an excuse.

It is one thing to excuse our presence for really important things like: you have broken a leg or an arm, you have been in a car accident, or you have been attacked by a bear. Those are good reasons for not being present with the Lord, with our families, or with our employer.

I doubt that Thomas slept in because it was the only day he didn’t have to work; or that he didn’t have anything to wear; or that he was attacked by a bear (that really is not a good excuse unless you live in the tundra).

When it comes to our responsibility for our faith-life, we need to stop making excuses and face the very real possibility that today may be our last day, and if we have not been serious about our relationship with G-d, then how serious will our relationship be with our G-d in the age to come? I know that the scripture tells us to “love the Lord you G-d with all your heart, mind and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.” There are no acceptable excuses for ignoring this command.

Thomas eventually had to have a face to face with Jesus – and so will you and me. Think about that……

Pastor Dave