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Feb 21, 2023 06:00am

Finding Jesus: Finding Faith that Overcomes Doubt

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(The following is a family devotional guide with suggested questions and scripture.)

Talk Time

Discuss the difference between these two statements:

Seeing is believing.

Believing is seeing.

Bible Connection

In our last devotional, we got a beautiful picture of Jesus‘ love as he was on the cross: he forgave his persecutors. After that, he said “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit,” and he died. But, that was not the end of the story. Death did not have the final word. Not by far. Something miraculous happens three days later. At sunrise Sunday morning, two women, with heavy hearts, went to Jesus’ tomb to prepare his body for burial. They had no idea they were about to get the shock of their lives: an empty tomb. Not only that, an angel was there and told them to not be afraid, for Jesus had risen from the dead! The angel instructed them to tell the disciples. After this divine meeting, these women (both named Mary) ran to tell the disciples, but the surprises weren’t done yet: they ran right into resurrected Jesus! This would have extinguished any doubts they may have had about the angel’s news of Jesus’ resurrection! After that, they ran to tell the disciples the “good news”. No doubt these women had a crazy message for the disciples, one that would be hard to believe for them. Perhaps that is why Jesus decided to pay them a little visit, too.

Read Luke 24:36-43 and describe how they reacted to seeing resurrected Jesus.

Now, we tend to imagine older men as the disciples, but they are actually younger, as in 13-15 years old. These young men freak out thinking Jesus is a ghost! Then, Jesus has them do something in order to calm their fears and doubts: he has them look at his hands and feet. Typically, when you ask people to look at something, there’s something to see. Perhaps there were holes there? Or perhaps there were scars? You see, Jesus had a new body, something all believers are promised when they get to heaven upon their deaths. His body wasn’t maimed from his torture, but God allowed these reminders – these scars – on his hands and feet to stay for this reason: his disciples needed to see them. His scars had a story, one that they would retell for years and years, so it was important they didn’t forget this moment. Before Jesus leaves them, he actually sat down and ate fish with them! After they recovered from their shock, he commissioned them to tell others about the good news of his resurrection. His death was not the end but the beginning.

Faith Connection

For the disciples, seeing was believing. Though Jesus gave them much grace by allowing them to see his scars, he challenged them to have a deeper faith that is built of love and trust, rather than sight.

When we choose to walk by faith, we begin to experience God. We feel Him. Coincidences are God winks. People we meet are God connections. The things people say are God inspired. The sermons we hear are God breathed. Believing God is seeing traces of Him everywhere.