The Omaha guide., 1946-05-18
A FRIEND WHO LEARNED
TO BELIEVE

LESSON TExT-John IL: Z. 8. ls. 20:
24-29.
MEMORY SELECTION - Blessed are
they that have not seen, and yet have
b~elieved.-John 20:29.
Doubt and faith-both seem to
come to the hearts and minds OF
men. Yet they are directly contra
dictory to n another and car"ot
exist together. To believe is to
drive out doubt. and when doubt
comes in, faith loses its grip.
Thomas, and his experience fol-
lowing the resurrection of our Lord,
! presents a lesson on what a man
a do to meet honest doubt and
how such a man can come out into
the sunshine of faith.
We find in Thomas, first, an ex-
preston of
l. Fearless Loyalty John lit. 8.
16).
Unafraid Of the threats Of men.
Jesus was about to 60 once more
into Judea. On his last two visits
there, the Jews had sought to kill
him, namely. at the feast Of taber-
nacles John $3.50 and at the feast
of dedication John 10:3l).
He was not n to draw back for
the fear of men when the Fathers
will led him forward in his service
to humanity. Lazarus was dead,
and Mary and Martha needed him
and he was going to them.
Then came a fine expression Of
the loyalty of Thomas. If his Lord
was going to face death, he vas will
ing to go along and die with him.
Let us recognize that here was a
man of real courage, willing to show
his loyalty ven by giving his life.
There is something fine about
that attitude, and something which
shows us that when this man later
expressed doubt, it was not the
silly and shallow unbelief Of a
trifier. This man loved the Lord and
served him, and yet he failed him.
When we think we are strong, we
had better watch out lest we fail.
Let us be clear and triumphant in
our declaration of loyalty to Christ,
both by word and by life. And then
let US set a double guard against
the enemy of Jul souls.
Thomas next appears in
III. Gcd Wants Balanced Men
duke 9:49, 500.
Power goes to a mans head, and
he needs the balance of God to keep
him from going astray. Then too,
strong men have intense Royalties
and are not afraid to assert them,
and are prone to condemn all who
do not conform.
John was here exhibiting that
dreadfuIly s~ectarian viewpoint which
persists even in day. To him it
was not enough that a man was do
ing the Lords work; he must either
join their particular circle or quit.
He was willing to stop a work Of
grace because this disciple of Christ
was not in the regular group. That
same spirit prevails today.
One wonders how some narrow
sectarians can read the words Of
Jesus without blushing in shame
and rushing to his feet for forgive
ness and cleansing
God wants dynamic men to work
for him; but he wants them to be
poised and balanced in their deal
ings with others, especially with the
brethren.
iii. God Wants Patient Men duke
9:51-56).
The friction between the Jews and
the Samaritans dated from the time
when the latter-a haf-Gentile peo-
ple-were denied the right to help
in building the temple. That be-
came the foundation for long and
bitter strife, which showed up in
such a discourteous act as to re-
fuse a nights lodging to travellers
because their destination was the
hated city Of Jerusalem.
Their offense viewed from anoth-
er angle was far more than a bitter
lack of courtesy, for they were turn
ing from their door the Son of God,
the Lord of glory.
. Stubborn prejudice combined with
Spiritual ignorance to make this
tense and explosive situation. The
sons of thunder had an answer
ready-let's blow them off the earth.
Simple. wasn't it? Yes, but nei-
Their right nor kind. These poor
people should have drawn forth
their compassion, not their hatred
or a desire for revenge.
Whenever and wherever you see
a man set to get revenge on an
other, you see a man who knows
nothing of the true spirit of Christ
". $50.
Nv. God Wants Loving Men Il
John At, 81.
AOHO - AOb 1IlGI ely SODQeLQ1nS
that God shows toward men or in
spires in their hearts,. God is love.
Being God, he is love, and that love
IS not a passive quality but an ac-
tive one. He loves.
Because he is love, those who
profess to belong to him are also
to love n another, to love a world
lost in sin, yes, to love even the ut
terly unlovely.
Volumes have been written on
this subject, but here we must be
satisfied just to state the fact and
to ask ourselves the direct question,
Do I manifest the love of God in
my life? Well, do you?
APOLOSTIC CHURCH OF CHRISTI