(Editor's Note: This is the eighth in a series of articles by Dr. Theodore Kalivoda on the shortcomings of Bible characters. The article is written for exclusive use on the Grace Community Chapel website.)
Thomas
The resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples and gave them great joy. Thomas wasn't with them at the time. Upon hearing the news, he was incredulous, declaring the need to see Jesus personally in order to believe in his resurrection. It underscored the human trait of demanding a visual in place of faith. The apostle Paul warned against doing that. We are to live by faith, not by sight, he said. In place of requiring visual proof we are asked to accept God's declarations as trustworthy, to depend on him to stand behind what he says.
Thomas had to see the resurrected Jesus in the flesh in order to believe. That was in spite of the written record of many Old Testament prophecies about the Christ to come, including accounts of his crucifixion and resurrection written hundreds of years earlier. Jesus himself spoke of that sure word of old: "Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms" (Lk.24:44). That included the crucifixion, whose account is prophetically and vividly recorded in Psalms 22 and Isaiah 53. That scripture was written hundreds of years before Jesus' birth.
For us today, the faith question is not one of seeing Jesus in order to believe. God has provided another way to lead us to him - the inspired Bible. However, we are sidetracked when we don't see God coming to our rescue in the way we think he should.
Our test is to continue confiding in God even though the outcome may not be to our liking. Sometimes it's hard to take, but God would have us accept a no response or a delayed response without losing faith in him. Negative situations abound in life, and we need faith to combat them. Our adversary is constantly throwing them at us for our hurt. That's why Paul instructs us to "Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Eph.6:16).
Life is full of unwelcome situations - disease, accidents, job loss, conflicts with people, death, and many other things. They call for faith to sustain us. We may get a positive response, but then we may not. Yet faith must rule. The sooner we put our lives in the hands of the Almighty, creator and sustainer of all things, and doing it with peaceful hearts, the better off we are. After all, to do otherwise causes unhealthy, harmful worry.
Trusting in God's decisions, no matter what, is a distinct NT appeal. Thomas à Kempis had it right when he said, "Get used to knowing less than God" (The Imitation of Christ .New York: HarperCollins, 2000, 6). That is faith coupled with a humility that recognizes God's splendid sovereignty.
Summary
Flaws of selected Bible characters serve as examples for us to avoid. They remind us of our failures as we engage in wrongdoing at one time or another.
Summarizing the bad judgments of biblical characters, we see that we are to avoid:
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rejecting God's instruction on obedience (Adam and Eve);
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blaming someone or something else for our misdeeds (Adam and Eve);
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following our own designs at the exclusion of a history of God's faithfulness (Abraham and Sarah);
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citing our limitations at the expense of following God's calling (Moses);
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making excuses for failing to heed God's instructions (Aaron);
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losing patience with God for having to bear unpleasant circumstances (Job);
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failing to maintain self-control (David);
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fleeing the ministry to pursue worldly pleasure (Demas);
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denying our faith to avoid unwanted suffering (Peter); and,
10. demanding physical evidence in order to believe God's working (Thomas).
It all amounts to Old Testament and New Testament saints leaving a record of disasters displaying ungodly and harmful living from which we can learn. May we be humble and wise learners.
Ted will be happy to respond to any comments or questions from readers via E-Mail: 
