"And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God." (John 20:26-28) We are only a reflection of our own experiences. As spiritual as we try to become, we cannot relegate the importance of experience to our life. Most people who have yielded much impact in their lives and generation where people who had a definite personal experience with God. Faith is an important and wonderful virtue to have; but the Bible does not suggest that faith will override experience. The strongest faith are attached to experience and built on definite encounter. .
According to the scriptures, after Jesus resurrected from the dead, He appeared to His disciples and spoke to them. But unfortunately brother Thomas was not present. When he returned, the others told him that Jesus had come and that He has risen. Brother Thomas makes an important statement. He said: " Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe."
Most people read about this incident and they blame Thomas, probably it is because of the statement which Jesus makes in verse 39 which seemed to condemn Thomas for His unbelief. But I think there is still a valuable lesson to be learnt from the attitude of Thomas here. He wanted to experience for himself. He wasn't satisfied by the testimonies of others, he wanted his own testimony. He wanted his own experience. Many christians today have no personal testimony. Imagine the type of sermon Thomas would have been preaching if he had not demanded his own experience. He would have been telling people: "The Lord Jesus rose from the dead. Peter and the rest saw Him. Unfortunately, I wasn't there the day He came". What a lifeless and unconvincing message! Nobody would have believed him. Yet unfortunately this is the type of message many of us preach.
"Oh Jesus walked in Galilee. He healed the woman with the issue of blood. He healed the man with leprosy... He did this and did that" All of which are the testimonies of other people. What is your own testimony? What is your own experience. Experience breeds conviction. People can take everything from you, but they can never take your experience.
What baffled me most was Thomas' response after he met personally with Jesus. He said: "My Lord and my God". For the first time, Jesus wasn't just their master, He was his master. It became personal. Your christianity will not amount to much until you make it personal. Thomas experienced a form of closeness that brought the realities of the Saviour to a personal domain. Jesus became His personal Lord and God. Our message will not change anybody unless it first changes us.
Today, ask God for a deep personal experience with Him, and He will grant that to you. He granted Thomas' request for a personal experience. He will grant yours. Stay blessed!