Several years ago, my wife and I bumped into an old college friend; he was a great guy, and we both liked him very much. He went by a nickname that fit his character, and I could never remember calling him by his proper name. He seemed ok with that, so I had no reason to question the practice. When we ran into this old friend, he was with his young wife, whom we had never met. I walked up to him and called him by the nickname I had always used, and the situation immediately became very awkward. He ignored me entirely and...
Several years ago, my wife and I bumped into an old college friend; he was a great guy, and we both liked him very much. He went by a nickname that fit his character, and I could never remember calling him by his proper name. He seemed ok with that, so I had no reason to question the practice. When we ran into this old friend, he was with his young wife, whom we had never met. I walked up to him and called him by the nickname I had always used, and the situation immediately became very awkward. He ignored me entirely and turned to walk away, and his wife, who heard me call out to him, didn’t seem to recognize the name I had used for her husband!
My wife and I were a little hurt, but then we talked about it. My wife, who tends to ‘read’ social situations better than I do, finally concluded that he had likely never liked the nickname and now, as an adult, did not want it to be used. Rather than confronting me, though, he just chose to walk away!
Sometimes, people are known for something and given a name, even though it may no longer ‘fit,’ or they simply don’t like it anymore!
There is a story in the Bible about a man who was nicknamed for one of his actions. If he were alive today, he would be repelled by the nickname he was given. The story is recorded in the Gospel of John, chapter 20.
Jesus called out the disciples from everyday life, and one of them was Thomas. This man was strong and outspoken, but he sometimes tended to be stubborn.
All in all, though, Jesus thought he would make a good disciple. A couple of times, he blurted out something foolish or ‘over the top,’ but nothing that really amounted to anything. And then, just three days after Thomas and the other disciples watched Jesus die on the cross and heard the story of his burial in a tomb by a wealthy man named Joseph, something unimaginable happened. The disciples had gathered together to grieve the loss of their Rabbi, and all of them were there except for Thomas. At some point in their time together, Jesus appeared to them! He had risen from the dead, as he had predicted, and they were amazed and excited and relieved to see Jesus alive. It was a wonderful time for them all!
The next time the disciples gathered, Thomas was there. They told him the good news, and he couldn’t believe it! He was so adamant in his disbelief that he proclaimed, in front of his friends, that unless he could see the wounds on Jesus’ hands, put his fingers in those wounds, and the cut on his stomach, he would not believe! Eight days later, the disciples gathered again, and Jesus appeared to them all. He gave them a greeting common in that day, and then, without wasting any time, turned to Thomas and said, “Reach here your finger, and see My hands, and reach here your hand, and put it into My side; and be not unbelieving, but believing.” (v.27) Thomas was stunned! He looked around and then examined Jesus’ wounds. Without saying anything else, he blurted out, “My Lord and My God!” (v.28). Jesus chastised him a bit, explaining that those who believed without seeing him were blessed. The issue was never addressed in the Bible again. Forever after, in church history, Thomas was given the nickname “Doubting Thomas.”
It was insulting and unfair, to be sure, but the name has ‘stuck’ on this disciple for over 2000 years!
Unfortunately, he has never received the credit he deserved for his life of faithful service because of that one ‘failure of faith.’
“Doubting Thomas” continued to follow Jesus faithfully and ended up in India, where he led hundreds to faith and established many churches up and down the coast in that heavily populated nation.
No one who knew him and served with him would ever have called him by the nickname he still uses today in the Western Church! He is remembered as a strong, passionate, and dynamic minister of the Gospel.
“Doubting Thomas” simply no longer existed!
God works with people who fail, even with disciples who say something foolish in a crisis. God used Thomas, and he can use us as we turn from our sins, allow God to nurture us in our faith, and get to work.
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