Just believe it

After Jesus died, the Apostles stayed in a room to talk about it. They locked the door, but suddenly, Jesus came in anyway! "Peace be with you," He said, and gave them the power to forgive sins. One Apostle, Thomas, wasn't there -- and didn't believe the others saw Jesus. But later, Jesus came back when Thomas was there. "Peace be with you -- and Thomas, believe in me," He said. So Thomas did!

Why don't adults tell kids everything? You're curious about a million things and want to know everything, but sometimes it feels like there's a lot the grownups aren't telling you.

Where does your older brother go on his bike every day? Why can't you see R-rated movies? "Show me," you beg -- but you don't get the answers.

Thomas the Apostle was like a curious kid. In this week's Gospel (John 20:19-31), the other Apostles see Jesus, but Thomas won't believe it. He wants to be shown that Jesus is really alive again.

When you want to know something, you don't just want to hear, "Believe me, this is what's true." You want to follow your brother to see where he goes, or see a grownup movie yourself to know what happens. You want proof that adults are telling you the truth.

Thomas felt that way, too. It wasn't good enough for the adults around him to just say they saw Jesus; he wanted proof. He wanted to see the wounds where Jesus was hurt before he'd believe Jesus was really the person the other Apostles saw.

Jesus understood that sometimes, it's important to see things for yourself. He came back and showed Thomas that it was really Him.

But at the same time, Jesus also said sometimes you just have to trust the people who care about you to tell you the truth. Sometimes, Jesus knew, your parents aren't going to let you see an R-rated movie -- and you just have to live with it!

(04-24-03) [[In-content Ad]]