Doubting...

What a difference a week makes...[I will again be vague in my acknowledgement of the preacher, though you can access the mp3 here].

This week the sermon Lindsay and I heard addressed the issue of doubt and the unshakableness of Christ. What I found intriguing was the pastors claim that doubt can be a spiritual gift; doubt is necessary in our lives and our faith because it pushes us hard to explore the depth of our faith. Doubt invites us on the journey of faith.

Too often Christians have lambasted doubt as a sign of weakness: Peter starting to drown, Thomas having to touch Jesus to believe. But both of those Biblical figures had unique experiences as the result of their doubts. Peter got to walk on water, and save Jesus, he is the only human to have ever done so. Thomas is one of the few to have ever gotten to touch the gaping hole in Jesus hands and side.

God is able to use our doubt to push us into far deeper spiritual realities; it is not a sign of weakness, immaturity or in opposition to faith.

I appreciated the point that this preacher made about Judas. While Judas's doubt was the catalyst to Jesus death, had Judas stayed alive and wrestled with his doubt about Jesus' Messianic claims, then he would have discovered the fullness of God. For God's plan was greater than Judas' betrayal.

In fact, God's plan utilized Judas's doubt. Had Judas embraced rather than run from the gnawing doubt, he would have seen that Jesus was in fact the Messiah.