That’s laughable, folks – and Gideon knew it. Gideon very quickly counters the angel’s statement: "But Lord . . . how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family?" (Judges 6:15, NIV). Yet God says that Gideon has indeed been chosen to be a mighty warrior – and with God on his side, that is exactly what Gideon went on to be, one of Israel’s heroes. Still, at this point, Gideon had many doubts. Like Moses before him and Jeremiah after him, Gideon just could not see himself as one of God’s chosen servants. He figures God must have the wrong number. And throughout this chapter, Gideon asks for three signs from God to confirm what he had already been told. He first prepares an elaborate offering for the angel who appeared to him; with one touch, fire flared up, consuming the offering (Judges 6:19ff). Later, Gideon lays out his famous fleece, asking God to confirm his call by having only the fleece be covered with dew in the morning. God does this, confirming that He had indeed called Gideon to attack the Midianite invaders. But Gideon needs still a third sign; this time, he lays out the fleece, asking that God only make the ground covered with dew, leaving the fleece dry. And only after God gives these three signs, only then does Gideon finally act.

Fast forward about twelve hundred years to the time of Jesus. On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified and buried, and the disciples were at their lowest. But on Easter Sunday, Jesus rose again from the dead and began to appear to the disciples and other believers. And ten of the remaining disciples saw the Risen Lord – but one did not. Thomas, it seems, had been hit hardest by the recent turn of events. He had grown weary of his crumbling faith, and had obviously separated himself from the others. He didn’t see Jesus when He appeared to the disciples. But he had, of course, heard from his friends that Jesus was alive again. The Greek grammar is such that we get the impression that the disciples not only told Thomas "We have seen the Lord!" (John 20:25, NIV), but that they kept telling him, over and over. But Thomas didn’t believe. "Unless I see the nail marks in His hands", he said, "and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe it" (John 20:25, NIV).

And indeed, the next week, as the Eleven gathered together in a locked room, suddenly, Jesus appeared to them again. And He went right up to Thomas, saying "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe!" (John 20:27, NIV, emphasis added). And Thomas said to Him "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28, NIV). And he finally got it. He finally believed. He finally accepted that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, conquering sin, death and the devil. And in the face of this finally-realized faith, Jesus said "Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29, NIV).

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Blessed are those who, unlike Gideon and Thomas, do not need great signs to confirm their faith, to confirm what they have already been told. But there, of course, on that count, we all fall down, don’t we? For we all tend to want miraculous signs, don’t we? We want the heavens to part for us; we want a burning bush to appear. We want the finger of God to come down and write on the wall for us, telling us just what to do, just what to say, just what to believe. And so, like Gideon, we keep laying our fleeces out before God. Like Thomas, we demand concrete proof before we take even little baby steps of faith.

That’s natural. For we have all failed one too many times; we’ve been hurt one too many times. And so, we end up living timidly, unwilling to take any grand leaps of faith. But Jesus says that this is not what is best. Jesus says that this is not the blessed life, not the abundant life that He wants for us, the abundant life that He came to give to us. No, He says – blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen concrete proof; blessed are those who have not demanded complex signs and wonders. Why? Because they have a robust faith. Because when they hear God’s voice, they recognize it, they believe it, and they act upon it. Such people are blessed because they know the Lord well enough to trust Him – even when He wants us to lead an army against our fearsome enemies, even when He wants us to believe something impossible, such as a man rising from the dead. Blessed are those, Jesus says, who are mature in their faith. And blessed are those who heed His rebuke to Thomas: "Stop doubting and believe!" (John 20:27, NIV).

That’s a rebuke for all of us, I’m sure. We all could stand to gain a little maturity here. But before you get too down on yourselves, here are a few little pieces of good news. And the first is that while we may be immature in our faith still, nevertheless, God is still gracious. God accommodates to our weaknesses. For if you read our passages for today, we see that God did answer Gideon’s three requests for signs. And we see that Jesus did appear to Thomas, letting him touch the holes in His hands, feet and side. God is loving, caring and forgiving. He stoops to meet our needs, to meet us where we are. That’s reassuring, isn’t it? But, my friends, God still wants more for us. He wants us to grow up, to mature, to have a full, blessed, abundant life. He wants us to have a robust faith, which is free from doubt and fear. And when He calls us, when He speaks to us, as He most certainly wants to do, He wants us to recognize His voice, to trust what He says and to obey. That’s the good life, my friends. That’s what we should be aiming for.

And that leads to the second piece of good news, which is that God has given us the tools we need to grow into this goal. First of all, He has given us His Word. Friends, if we want to grow, we must study the Word – regularly, faithfully, prayerfully, obediently. John tells us that God’s Word has been written "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name" (John 20:31, NIV). God has given us His Word in Scripture so that we might believe, so that we might have faith, and so that we might have the abundant life He desires for us. And so, friends, we should read it every day. We should commit to Bible Studies where they are available. We should find and read books that help us study. We should seriously commit to learning the Word, to memorizing the Word, to learning all that God tells us about Himself therein. I promise you, friends, when we do that, our faith will grow!

And along with this, if we want to grow, we also have to commit to prayer. We must talk with God. For how can our faith grow unless we talk with Him, with our Lord, our Creator, the object of our faith? And how can our faith grow if we do not listen to Him, to His voice – for He will indeed answer us. He may speak in a still, small voice. We may need to turn off all outside noise and listen carefully. But He will answer. And we will learn to recognize His voice. And then, friends, when we hear Him, we must obey. We must act. We must step out on faith, trusting that He will not lead us astray. Friends, all this is possible – believe me. There are no qualifications for this, no make-or-break qualities that we need to live in faith and abundant life. All we need is obedience. So – do you want to stop doubting? Do you want to grow? Do you want to mature in your faith? It can be done! That’s the good news – it can be done!

God is good, my friends. He accommodates to our weaknesses. But He also wants more for us. He wants us to know Him. He wants us to have a real and vital relationship with Him. He wants us to have full and abundant life in Him. But that means, friends, that we must trust Him and obey Him. There’s no other way but that. And we must be deliberate in our actions, living diligently in prayer and Bible study as we live out the Christian life of faith. The question is – are you willing to do this? Are you willing to stop doubting and believe? The next time God speaks to you, will you listen and believe? Or will you instead live like Thomas and Gideon? May we all rise up in faith, trusting and obey our gracious and loving God – and to Him alone be the glory!