Hello, and we are back at Nextdoor Gospel exploring how the gospel story is showing up in the ebb and flow of our lives. I'm your host, Peggy Griffith, and I'm so glad you've joined me today. Today I'm going to kick off a conversation that will likely lead into at least a couple more episodes over the next few weeks. And I'd like to talk a little bit about a topic that is interesting, if not even a little bit uncomfortable, and that is a topic of doubt. And then I'm going to go on a much needed vacation next week. And when I return, I'm going to continue to pull on this topic just a little bit with some conversation that I've had with a dear friend of mine who identifies an as an atheist. So I think there's a lot of insight about how doubt fits into our faith formation. You know, there's a phrase that I heard growing up in church that always made me a little bit uncomfortable. It was, doubt is the enemy of faith. Maybe you've heard something similar. The implication was clear. And that is to be a good Christian, you need unwavering unquestioning beliefs. Many churches have creeds or statements of faith that are memorized and recited during worship, and what happens if you have questions about these things while oftentimes you're met with answers, like, well, some questions just aren't meant to be answered. Or my personal favorite is, well, that's just the way it is. I mean, that's helpful for the over analytical and overthinking mind. But today I wanna challenge that notion. What if doubt isn't the enemy of faith at all? What if doubt is actually a gift? From God, a sacred invitation to know God more deeply. So let's start with perhaps the most notorious doubter in the Bible, and that's Thomas, one of Jesus, 12 disciples. Now poor Thomas. He has been saddled with the nickname Doubting Thomas for over 2000 years, and I think he deserves a little rebranding in John Chapter 20, we find the disciples hiding behind locked doors after Jesus' crucifixion and they're fearful for their lives. Now at this point, they've heard from Mary Magdalene who is confident that she has seen the Lord. And then even though we know the door was locked, we learned that Jesus appears before them wounded flesh in all. And while they were overjoyed to see Jesus, I'm sure they were rubbing their eyes a little bit. Like, am I really seeing what I think I'm seeing? Now one of the 12 disciples that we have come to know is Thomas. He wasn't with them at the time when this happened, so as he was hearing the news from his friends, he's like, yeah, I've been drinking the good wine or something. I mean, how many times have you said the words? I'll believe it when I see it. Thomas responded with what I think is perfectly natural. He said, unless I see nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and I put my hand to his side, no, I'm not gonna believe it. And we often stop there in the story and we start to shake our heads a little. Oh, Thomas, if only he had more faith. But the story doesn't end with Thomas's doubt because later Jesus appears again and says directly to Thomas, Hey, here, put your finger right here. See my hands. Put your hand right into my side. Stop doubting and believe, and Jesus met Thomas exactly where he was in the midst of his doubt. And Jesus doesn't shame him or reject him. Instead, he just offered Thomas precisely what Thomas said he needed. And Thomas responds with the most profound declaration of faith that you hear in the Bible. And it is my Lord and my God. And it's in that moment, I'm reminded just a few verses earlier. Where Mary Magdalene seeing a man outside the tomb, assuming it to be the gardener, and when she realizes it is indeed Jesus. She had a similar response Rabbi meeting teacher Mary didn't know either until Jesus spoke to her, so I find it fascinating that Jesus doesn't say. Blessed are those who have never doubted. Instead, Jesus says, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed, and in those words, I don't read admonishment to Thomas for his doubt. It's just that faith works differently for different people and that's okay. This brings me to something I've been reflecting on lately, and that is that God has created each of us with unique minds and hearts and just ways of processing things. Some of us are more natural with mystery and abstraction, and others need concrete evidence and logical frameworks. Is one approach more spiritual than the other? I don't think so, and I, I actually believe God delights in the diversity of all these brilliant minds he's created, and I'm sure he gets a little bit tickled with all this stuff. Jumbled up in my little no in. The truth is God gave us these minds and hearts capable of curiosity, analysis, and yes, even doubt. And they're part of what it means to be made in God's image. Folks who are more comfortable with mystery, they may sense God's presence in a more intuitive way, and they don't feel a strong need to analyze or explain their experiences. Others are more analytical by nature, and they value evidence, consistency, and logical coherence. They want their faith to make sense intellectually and not just emotionally. And then there's a whole lot of us that fall somewhere in the middle of that. And eventually I've come to realize that God is never really asking us to become someone else, but rather inviting us to just get to know him with these beautiful and amazing minds we've been given. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 12 that we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In the past week, I know so many of us have been impacted in a variety of ways by the recent passing of Pope Francis and while his health was ailing and we knew this time would come, it is still a hard loss for the world. And regardless of where one might stand on matters of religion, we can agree that Pope Francis was indeed a good human. He was a different pope. He spoke and acted with love and generosity. He challenged the status quo, and dare I say, he might've even been a bit radical. And I think that's why his passing touched so many hearts across religious backgrounds worldwide. I got to thinking about the next steps of electing a new Pope, and I thought of a movie I watched, hmm, maybe a month or so ago, called Conclave. It's a fictional movie that takes place after the passing of a pope. The process of the conclave that takes place to elect the next Pope, I highly recommend it. I thought it was great and the plot twist at the end was great, but no real spoilers here. But the main character is Cardinal Thomas Lawrence, and yes, it is ironic that his name is Thomas. But he is the overseer of the conclave. And of course he is faced with all kinds of political maneuvers and divisions. But one of the key moments of this movie was his monologue that started the proceedings. And in the monologue he said, our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty, and if there was no doubt, there would be no mystery and therefore no need for faith. Let us pray that the Lord will grant us a Pope who doubts and by his doubts continues to make the Catholic faith a living thing that may inspire the whole world. Let him grant us a Pope who sins and asks forgiveness and carries on. Now I wanna be clear about something. I'm not suggesting that doubt is the destination. The gift of doubt isn't that we remain in perpetual questioning and never arriving at any convictions for ourselves, but. Rather, I think of doubt as a vehicle that can transport us to a deeper, more tested faith. C. S Lewis once wrote, faith is the art of holding onto things your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods. I love that definition because it acknowledges that faith isn't the absence of questions. It's the choice we get to make, to trust even when questions arise. And I'd say, think about any relationship that is significant in your life. A spouse, a dear friend, a family member. The depth of that relationship isn't measured by how few questions you've had about it. But by how many seasons and challenges it has weathered. And the same is true of our relationship with God. And one of my favorite biblical stories about doubt comes from Mark chapter nine. A father brings his son who has been suffering from seizures since childhood, and he brings him to Jesus for healing and Jesus tells him. Everything is possible for one who believes. And the father's response was just beautifully honest. He said, I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief. I mean, this wasn't an either or situation. Either you believe or you don't believe. It was a both and. The father had mixed faith with doubt. I mean, after all, he would not have brought his son to Jesus for healing if he didn't have some shred of faith, and Jesus didn't reject him for it. Instead, Jesus healed his son, and I think that's a prayer that I've prayed many times in my own life. In some way or another I've said, Lord, I believe, but help me in my unbelief. And I have found that God is gracious to meet me there not demanding perfect faith, but by my side working with the mustard seed of faith that I have. So if you are listening today. And you are in a season of doubt or questioning, I want to offer this encouragement to you because you are not alone in your questions, and it doesn't disqualify you from God's love or God's presence in your life. Throughout scripture and throughout history. Men and women of profound faith have wrestled with doubt. St. Augustine questioned Mother Theresa, questioned CS l Lewis questioned your questions, place you in pretty good company and I'd ask you to consider that some of the greatest advancements in human history show how doubt and questioning even when initially resisted. Change the world for good. I mean, we have Copernicus who dared to suggest that the earth was not the center of the universe. Pastore whose work on germ theory was initially dismissed, but revolutionized medicine and saved countless lives on understanding how diseases are spread. We've got the invention of penicillin, the light bulb, the printing presses, and more. So all of this to say that God is big enough for your doubts, and in fact, I believe God welcomes them as opportunities for deeper connection with you. So Thomas' Doubt did not push. Jesus away. It invited Jesus to draw near in a new way, and that can be true for us, and our questions can become the very places where we encounter God most profoundly. So let's reframe our doubt, not so much as the enemy of faith, but as a gift we are given. A divine invitation to seek, to knock, to ask, and ultimately to find God in deeper ways than we could ever do without our questions. So I thank you for joining me today on Nextdoor Gospel. If this episode resonated with you, I would love to hear your thoughts. You can reach me through our website@nextdoorgospel.com or on Instagram or on Facebook too. And until next time, and remember, next time will be week after next, uh, because I'm gonna take a vacation. But I do plan on sharing some pictures on social media. But until next time, may God find you. Right where you are. Questions, doubts and all. And may the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift his face toward you and give you peace. Amen.