My Lord and My God

One of my favourite Easter related readings is John chapter 20 where Jesus appears to the disciples in a locked room but Thomas misses it. Jesus graciously appears later and this time Thomas is included. I love the immediacy and directness of Thomas' response: 

My Lord and My God!

The doubting has evaporated, there is no further quibbling - Thomas jumps direct to a clear and significant faith declaration. It is worth us playing out the logic and ramifications of Thomas' new faith position:

• He asserts that Jesus is God, equating Jesus as God. To believe in God is now to believe in Jesus and vice versa.
• He asserts that Jesus is Lord, that his posture, framework for life, and step by step directions should now all be in obedience to Jesus and His teaching & command.

The statement was politically dangerous - for such a statement Thomas could fall foul of the Jewish religious elite, and for such a statement he could fall foul of the Romans.

Today, especially for us in 'the West' where we have been used to relatively tolerant and permissive democracies that largely allowed freedom of religion and expression, the personal assertion that 'Jesus is Lord and God' now needs to become prominent in our Christian thinking once again. As Christ-followers we need to ask ourselves can we say & live the same as Thomas, and face whatever implications that brings?

For today we see seismic shifts in the Western political landscape that we thought had been 'done & dusted' some 80 years ago. We now see formerly permissive democracies like America joining the ranks of Russia and China in a tyranny that is already demanding allegiance of their citizens to state machinery and leadership. In fact in America it now appears to be becoming 'cult-like', much like it was in Roman times and has been in North Korea for many decades.

In such an environment, to truly assert 'Jesus is Lord and God' and therefore NOT head of state X or Y, puts you on the margins, outcast, and at serious risk of state-led reprisals.

Thomas, the other apostles & followers, appear to have embraced this predicament and held fast to their assertion. I hope I prove to hold fast too. How about you?