The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1961-07-28
s. The ResIi't
Lesson for July 30, 1861

Those who are converted to
faith in Christ bring their tenn
peraments with them. Some
people are temperamentally op-
timistic. others are by nature
pessinists. and they stay that
way after conversion. It is like
two aircraft on the same course,
one a transport, the other a light
plane. A storm shows up ahead;
both planes make a 45-degree
turn to the right. or perhaps
they turn clear around with a
180-degree turn. After the turn
they are still transport and light
plane. not two of e It h e r, not
something else like helicopters.
That's what conversion"
means, just turning around.
In Presence Of Danger
Thomas, one Of the Twelve, I"
was a man set apart from the
other eleven by his dark mind
Not that he was stupid; on the
contrary he was pretty bright.
He had a very logical mind. but
it was easier for him to believe
unpleasant facts than to believe
what would have suited him bet-
ter. Some call him a pessimist.
Perhaps he was; but we, may
think of him as a realist. The
optimist has lovely stained glass
windows in his house Of life, and
so the world always looks gay
and bright to him. The pessimist
paints over his windows. can
scarecel ysee at all. and says,
What a dismal world this is! The
realiSt has clear plate glass win
dows and keeps them polished.
When it's raining outside the
realist says SO. The optimist
says, Go on. you're a pessimist!
See how lovely the world looks
from my window! never see
it rain at all. But the man is not
peSSimiSt. really.
Thomas. like others of his sort,
sometimes slips over into pes
simism, but (again like all Chris
tan realists) even when he takes
the darkest view possible. he
does not lose his faith. On the
occasion when Jesus went to
Bethany just after his friend
Lazarus died, it was a we'll
known fact that the authorities
wanted to have him arrested.
Thomas thought it would come
to worse than arrest. Let us go
too, that we may die with him" "
he said. He did not think Jesus
was riding the road to success.
In Bewilderment
At the Last Supper we hear
the voice of Thomas only once.
Lord, we do not know where
you are going, how can we know
the way?" He was evidently
completely bewildered. But he
did not leave the table, as Judas
did, to go out into the night. He
was at a low point. He as good
as admits he does not under
stand Jesus at all. I'VE don't
know where you are headed"
sounds very much like what the
English call a vote Of no-confi-
denee. But Thomas stayed on.
Where was Jesus headed? He
did not know. But he was sure
Jesus knew. That's faith.
No Secondhand Faith
Thomas is best known for his
refusing to believe that the res
direction of Jesus was an actual
fact. To be more exact, he re-
fused to believe on the evidence
of his friends. Thomas never
said, The things impossible,
I'll never believe it." What he
said, in effect. was, 1T may be
possible but can't take it at
secondhand. I must see for my
self. If I believe. it will be only
if Jesus himself proves the story
you are telling"
Now the Eleven Tor Ten, to be
exact may have been offended.
When one of your friends tell
you he doesn't believ you,
doesn't believe the lot of you, it
gets under the skin. But they
did not put Thomas out. and he
did not put himself out. The
next time they met, he was there
too.
Thomas is called the Doubter.
Is this fair to him? Should a
man be called a doubter who is
willing to die with Jesus? Should
a man be called a doubter when
it is not doubt but ignorance that
rides him? Should a man be
called a doubter when he seeks
the company of those who be-
lieve? Some men are skeptics
who don't want to believe. But
those skeptics who want to be-
lieve, can find faith best within
the community of the faithful.
Biased on outlines copyright
ed nv the Division Of Chrisfian