Blessed Are They That Have Not Seen, And Yet Have Believed

I have truly enjoyed this particular reading of the Gospel of John, for instance,

John 20:29 "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

It is a true blessing to be able to discern truth from its intangible evidence, and then to act on that truth.  Truth is not limited to those things we can detect with the senses of sight, sound, smell, or touch.

John 20:31 "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name."

Great as it is to be able to discern truth, it is a greater blessing to be able to believe in the specific truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God, and that this belief is spiritually lifegiving!

John 21: 17 "He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."

 

As we grow in our belief in Christ, we will grow to love Him ever more deeply.  It is a commandment to do so, along with the companion commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves.  We do this by "feeding" them, or by serving them in the same way we would willingly serve Christ himself.  This is so important that Christ lovingly asked Peter three times to do this, for emphasis on its importance.

 

And He blesses us so greatly as we do so!