When We See Jesus

"You're eyes can deceive you, don't trust them"

25The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”26And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”27Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”28And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”29Jesus said to him, f“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20: 25 - 29 NKJV

Thomas had a problem.  Despite having lived among the Son of God for quite some time, he was still unsure of what it was that Jesus had been saying all along.  Despite those encouraging words from his friends that they had seen the risen Lord, Thomas refused to believe.  He wanted to see the risen Christ before he would accept what Jesus had already told him.  It's hard to think that we all have a bit of doubting Thomas in us.  Sure, we know that Jesus told those who would hear of the trials that He would face on His way to the cross.  That the Son of Man must suffer many things for all of us.  In our hearts we know that truth that is Jesus, but all too often we want something more.  Like Thomas, we want to SEE Jesus with our own eyes that we might be reassured that He is indeed who He says He is.  Despite all that we know, we find it a comfort that we might be able, just for an instant, see Jesus as He is.  One of the issues I had as I struggled with the knowing of Christ in me was that I couldn't see Him.  Yes, the apostle Paul assures us in Galations that the Spirit of Christ lives through us, we still feel as if we cannot see Him {Galations 2:20}.  Like Thomas, how is it that I could believe, to trust, in someone I couldn't even see?  Of course, if I've faced these questions, I'm sure that there are others out there who have asked that very same thing.  There may be more than a few doubting Thomas' out there among us.  All seeking to see the Lord Jesus.  Have we been blinded to who Jesus really is?  Perhaps, but I also think that what it is we're looking for may just be closer to us than we think.

5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.7“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 14: 5 - 9 NKJV

Like Thomas, ol' Philip also seemed unsure of what Jesus had been speaking of for so long.  I have often wondered if Thomas and Philip ever got together to wonder amongst themselves just what Jesus was telling them.  Can one who has died rise again?  Can we actually see God?  Of course, we know in our hearts that the answer to both of these questions is a resounding YES!  Still, we long to see Him to prove to ourselves that He is there.  That we're not somehow wasting our time believing in someone who doesn't even exist.  However, like the wise old jedi Obi Wan Kenobi once told his young apprentice, "you're eyes can deceive you, DON'T trust them."  I have a feeling that this wise advice would do many a christian good these days.  Stop relying on your physical sight to look for something you already know to be true.  Have you ever seen with your own eyes the affection of another?  No.  Now, we often see those ACTIONS of another which we perceive as affection, but I'm guessing that physical affection itself cannot be seen with our eyes.  Yet we do not discount that it exists.  When is the last time your eyes saw gravity?  I'm guessing that nobody can claim to have seen this either.  Sure, we see gravitys effects upon us each day, but we've never actually seen it.  Therefore, we accept it because we simply know it's there.  Knowing Jesus can also be that simple.  Although He is not visible through our physical eyes, we can rest assured that Jesus is who He claims to be.  We're told that nobody has ever seen God, but we're assured that He lives in us {1 John 4:12}.  Knowing that the Spirit of Christ lives through us, our own spirits are assured of His reality.  We know that we know.  Your own eyes can deceive you, don't trust them.  When we look into that mirror...we have seen Jesus.

3Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4And it happened, as they were bgreatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6“He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7“saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”8And they remembered His words.
Luke 24: 3 - 8 NKJV

~Scott~