Several years ago the steeple on our church was taken down to be re-built. The day after its removal one of the men of the parish came into my office with a twinkle in his eye.

He asked, "Ed, how long do you think the weather vane is from tip to tip?" "Oh, about three to four feet at the most, I answered. He led me outside and there on the ground was this monstrous arrow nine feet long. I was stunned at my miscalculation. You see, way up there in the air that weather vane was removed from my experience. I saw it in perspective with the steeple, but not in perspective with myself. I had no eye for proper measurement.

In somewhat the same way Thomas had no eye for the risen Christ, no sense of his proportion when he was apart from him. He measured Jesus against failure and death and saw nothing But when the riven Christ stood next to him he was stunned into belief. His challenge of touching the wounds was forgotten. All he could say was, "My Lord and my God!"

Ultimately faith is not a matter of optics tics, but of adoration. Moving through doubt and uncertainty, Thomas eventually became a great missionary in India. There he led many to say in faith what he had earlier said face to face with his Savior, "My Lord and my God!"

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An artist was commissioned by a wealthy man to paint something that would depict peace. After a great deal of thought, the artist painted a beautiful country scene. There were green fields with cows standing in them, birds were flying in the blue sky and a lovely little village lay in a distant valley. The artist gave the picture to the man, but there was a look of disappointment on his face. The man said to the artist, "This isn't a picture of true peace. It isn't right. Go back and try again.

The artist went back to his studio, thought for several hours about peace, then went to his canvas and began to paint. When he was finished, there on the canvas was a beautiful picture of a mother, holding a sleeping baby in her arms, smiling lovingly at the child.

He thought, surely, this is true peace, and hurried to give the picture to the wealthy man. But again, the wealthy man refused the painting and asked the painter to try again.

The artist returned again to his studio. He was discouraged, he was tired and he was disappointed. Anger swelled inside him, he felt the rejection of this wealthy man. Again, he thought, he even prayed for inspiration to paint a picture of true peace. Then, all of a sudden an idea came, he rushed to the canvas and began to paint as he had never painted before. When he finished, he hurried to the wealthy man.

He gave the painting to the man. He studied it carefully for several minutes. The artist held his breath. Then the wealthy man said, "Now this is a picture of true peace." He accepted the painting, paid the artist and everyone was happy.

And what was this picture of true peace?? The picture showed a stormy sea pounding against a cliff. The artist had captured the furry of the wind as it whipped black rain clouds which were laced with streaks of lightening. The sea was roaring in turmoil, waves churning, the dark sky filled with the power of the furious thunderstorm.

And in the middle of the picture, under a cliff, the artist had painted a small bird, safe and dry in her nest snuggled safely in the rocks. The bird was at peace midst the storm that raged about her. (1)

(1)  Author Unknown

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Frederick Buechner says Whether your faith is that there is a God or that there is not a God, if you don't have any doubts you are either kidding yourself or asleep.

Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving.

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Irrefutable Evidence
 

Dorothy Sayers says this about the character Thomas:

It is unexpected, but extraordinarily convincing, that the one absolutely unequivocal statement in the whole gospel of the Divinity of Jesus should come from Doubting Thomas. It is the only place where the word God is used ... without qualification of any kind, and in the most unambiguous form of words .... And this must be said -- not ecstatically, or with a cry of astonishment -- but with flat conviction, as of one acknowledging irrefutable evidence: '2 + 2 = 4,' 'That is the sun in the sky,' 'You are my Lord and my God!'

Sayers, The Man Born to Be King (London: Victor Collancz, 1943), 319-20.

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Here lives more faith in honest doubt, believe me, than in half the creeds.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam (1850).