My Lord And My God
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 20:27,28
Please turn with us to the 20th chapter of John. As you read along in your Bibles to confirm the narrative of this article, I ask you to just take a moment, close your eyes and capture the scene in your "mind's eye". There Thomas stood, hand outstretched in disbelief. Yet even so, the hand that reached out in doubt was about to firmly anchor to the Solid Rock, Christ Jesus. Eight days earlier, the disciples had been gathered together behind closed doors, in mortal fear of their very lives. They knew the Jewish leaders wanted to completely wipe out all traces of Jesus and His teachings. That meant they were all in jeopardy. Jesus came and stood in the midst of them and said, Peace be unto you. He then showed them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. However, Thomas was not there. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, 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. John 20:24,25. Thomas wasn't going to take their word for it. Neither was he willing to settle for what his eyes told him--he also required the proof of touch. 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. Now read verses, 27 and 28, one more time. I want you to more fully grasp how Thomas was affected: Jesus said 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. Stop! Don't move! Just pause for a few moments with me and "hear" Thomas' voice that time: "My Lord and my God." Feel the awe that passed through Thomas as he was virtually overwhelmed by the light of THE TRUTH as it dawned on him Who stood before him: "My Lord and my God." If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, if Jesus is your Lord and your God, you have experienced a moment such as ole' Thomas did that day. Now do you remember how it felt? Think about it, think about it, think about it. Recall that moment of love, as you had never felt before, as the bonds of that which bound you were broken. Remember that moment when you fully realized Who Jesus is to you! That's right, dismiss the world and all that is about you for just a brief time. Just bask in that feeling as you remember that time of cleansing--when sin's stains were removed from your life. Do you know what you have just done? You have just returned to your "first love"--a remembrance of that first moment of clear recognition of Who Jesus is: He Who cleanses us from all sin. He Who sets our world aright. He Who gives eternal life; oh, that joy unspeakable and full of glory! I lift Your Name, Jesus! I magnify Your Name! Oh yes, that moment when our spiritual eyes are opened and we know Jesus Christ as "My Lord and my God". We don't need to ever forget that moment when we fully realize in Whom we have believed. That moment when we are fully persuaded that He is able to keep that which we commit to Him. We need to cherish that moment of time always in our hearts, as we grow in wisdom, knowledge and grace. We need to cling to that moment when we felt the bonds of sin and shame lift from us, when we were set free from that which had so long bound us! That moment when He created within us a clean heart and a right spirit. That moment you wanted to tell the ENTIRE world about! Revelation 2:1,4 (The Living Bible) reads, "Write a letter to the leader of the church at Ephesus and tell him this: I write to inform you of a message from him who walks among the churches and holds their leaders in his right hand. He says to you: 'Yet there is one thing wrong; you don't love me as at first'!" The NIV phrases verse 4 as, "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love". Our first love--that moment when we, like Thomas did that day, clearly know Who Jesus is. My Lord and my God: He Who left the perfection of Heaven to bring salvation to me (and you). He Who set the captive (you and me) free. He Who gave His life for me (and you) that the plan of salvation could be made complete. He Who took my (and your) place on that cross. He Who suffered and bled and died and rose again on that third day that we (that's you and me) might have life and have it more abundantly! He Who stands at the right hand of God, daily making intercession for me (and you). He Whose mercies to us are made new every morning.
Have you allowed the daily stresses and strains of the world to diminish your first love of Christ? Has your memory been dimmed of that awesome moment, when the two of you met at an altar (wherever it was) of prayer? You know, before personal pride and daily doubt crept in and caused you to no longer witness of the saving Grace of God through Jesus Christ? Oh, that moment when He reached further down than I could reach up! Filthy and stinking in my sins, I called out to Him for mercy and He heard my cries! That moment when my mere existence was replaced with Abundant Life through Him and all the storms He has brought me through since then! The trials I could have never withstood without Him! The countless blessings He has sent into my life! To forget them is to wax cold in my love for Him and when that happens, I have moved away from my FIRST LOVE of Him.
You know, we all claim to want "revival" brought into our little humdrum lives. But why are our lives "humdrum" to begin with? I ask you, where does revival have to start first? Revival is NOT brought to us by some big-name preacher who comes to town. If that is revival, I assure you, it won't last. It will quickly fade and once more we will find ourselves deep in the same old doldrums as before! TRUE REVIVAL MUST start within our own hearts! Revival IS possible within all of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, IF we will return to our FIRST LOVE of Him! And it NEVER has to wait to be brought by someone--it can remain alive and refreshed in our hearts through the Holy Ghost, each and every day of our lives! The world says, "Oh you must forget your past." I ask you, who are you going to believe, the world or the Word of God? The Bible tells us, time after time after time, to remember that which the Lord has done for us. Certainly, we are not to remember our past to long for that way of existence again. Yet, when we forget the marvelous things the Lord has done for us, revival dies within us. I CAN have REVIVAL in my heart, 24/7. Oh yes, I can. Simply by remembering Who God is to me. And that is done by recalling His works in my life. Not only am I strengthened in my walk with Him, I am renewed, refreshed, revived and reinvigorated for each day! Yes yes, walking with Jesus in revival every day, by returning to my First Love of Him, so that I am ever mindful that He is My Lord and my God!
(all emphasis on scriptures, such as bold, underline or uppercase, is mine) "My Lord And My God" Copyright © 2001 by Patricia Sikes. All Rights Reserved.
O Lord My God
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