ID Please!

Does anyone ever ask you for identification? It happens to me all the time. When I go into a store to buy something and I want to pay for it with a check, the cashier takes my check and then asks, "May I see your driver's license please?" Why does the cashier need to see my driver's license? The answer is quite simple. The cashier wants to see if I match the picture on the driver's license. Am I really who I claim to be?

There may be other times when you will be asked for identification. You may need a picture ID to get a library card. You might even need a picture ID to sign up for youth soccer. Many schools are now requiring students and teachers to wear a picture ID at school. Almost every day we are asked to prove that we are who we say we are.

On the Sunday that Jesus rose from the grave, he appeared to a group of his disciples. One of the disciples, whose name was Thomas, was not with them. When the disciples told Thomas that they had seen Jesus and that he was alive, Thomas said, "I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes. I want to see the nail-prints in his hands and put my hand in the place where the spear was thrust into his side."

A week later, Jesus appeared to his disciples again. This time Thomas was there. Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Put your hand into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Then Thomas believed!

A lot of people today won't believe that Jesus really rose from the grave because they haven't seen him with their own two eyes. They want "proof of identity" before they will believe. Jesus said, "Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed."

How about you? Do you have to have "proof of identity" before you will believe in Jesus, or will you accept him by faith?

Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending your son to die on the cross for our sin. Help us to accept by faith that Jesus has risen from the grave and that he is alive. Amen.