Becky Murray from the missionary charity One By One spoke at our meeting this morning, telling us about how an encounter with a young girl in Sierre Leone (who thought that her kind gesture in buying flip-flops for the girl was actually a means of buying her sexually) led her to found the charity which now works in Kenya, South Africa, India, Brazil and Pakistan. She spoke from John 20:24-28 about how Thomas often dismissed by us for doubting after the resurrection. So often, we label ourselves (and others) as failures when we make mistakes, but actually, Thomas was transformed by his encounter with Jesus and took the gospel to India. He became, in effect, a ‘twin’ of Jesus, mirroring His love to so many.
Jesus urged Thomas to see His wounds, to perceive, to become acquainted with them through experience. He told him to reach his hands into His wounds. There is no quick fix to many of the problems we face in this world (slavery, human trafficking, brick factories and so on), but like the good Samaritan, we can help people one by one. We must not look the other way as the Levite and the priest did, but must be willing to have God challenge us and stretch our faith so that when we surrender to Him, He can take us all on incredible journeys.
