Faith and Doubt Coexisting

Today we’re looking at the passage when the best of the best, the original apostles, got to see Jesus after the resurrection. There’s such an interesting tidbit in this passage…

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples…

• Matthew 28:16-19

Did you notice that phrase about some believing and some doubting? It’s right there at end of the gospels. And did you see what Jesus did about it? He went right ahead and sent them out to make a difference in the world… Jesus took no time to shame them, to correct them, to separate the ‘bad apples’ out of the mix. Nope. He just blessed them with authority to go and bring healing to the world.

If the best of the best, those original apostles, were a mix of faith and doubt it’s not sacrilegious that we are too. And maybe both faith and doubt live in each one of us - sometimes one gaining more traction and sometimes the other. What we do know, is that regardless of what your faith/doubt index is right now, you’re called to go into the world and make a difference. To help others know this incredible person of Jesus and to live in the ways of Jesus.

This is what it means to be the gathered church and the scattered church: with all our faith and all our doubt we are called both to connect with Christ (and each other) and to be sent out into the world in love.