Digging Deeper – He Knows Everything—And Still Likes You
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”
John 20:24-27
HE KNOWS EVERYTHING – AND STILL LIKES YOU
Cause #1 for Our Doubts: We Question God’s Omniscience
Basically—and not so basically—we question whether God knows everything. Specifically, I question whether God knows everything about my life at this moment in time. And if He does, does He even care?
Now, I would never admit this out loud, because I know that He cares for me. He tells me He does in 1 Peter 5:7:
“…casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” (Personalized by me.)
But do I always live out my known doctrine? Does my knowledge manifest itself in my life on a daily basis—on a moment-to-moment basis? To get right down to it:
Do I feel His hand upon my angst, or is it just head knowledge?
(I just read back over that last line, and I’m humbled—and not just a little ashamed—that I wrote it, or even thought it in the first place. After all, what is wrong with head knowledge? If you’re like me, there have been numerous times on life’s journey when I have not felt Jesus—but I knew He was right there in the midst of my anxiety, my doubt, my pain. And in most every case, knowing He was there was the anchor that held my faith through the storm until my heart could catch up.)
Does God know everything about me—and you?
ABSOLUTELY.
And He proves it to Thomas in verses 25 and 27. Jesus wasn’t in the room when Thomas stated his ultimatum:
“Unless I can touch His nail-scarred hands and spear-pierced side, I will not believe!” (Dave’s interpretation)
Yet eight days later, when Thomas and Jesus are together in the room, Jesus cashes the ultimatum check by saying:
“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.”
THOMAS, I KNOW EVERYTHING. YOU CAN TRUST IN ME.
And you know what? Jesus knows everything about you and me as well.
And we can trust Him—because He is omniscient.
We can trust the One who is not bound by time, or space, or even our doubts.
He is all-knowing.
And, as my friend Steve Brown used to say,
“…and He likes you anyway.”
After all, Jesus died knowing everything about me—before I was even born.
Check off Cause #1 for doubting Him.
Tomorrow, we’ll look at Cause #2!
Quite simply, Dave Griffith loves getting to know Jesus better by studying His Word daily and is passionate about teaching his siblings in Christ how to study His Word as well. He is passionately in love and like with his helpmate, Jackie; and is most fulfilled when he is hanging with his 10 kids (3 of his, 2 of Jackie’s, 3 are married, 2 more spiritually adopted) and 9 grandkids. He is a small group leader and a men’s group leader. He is a serial entrepreneur owning or having owned numerous businesses. He also enjoys naps!