WHAT TO DO WITH THOSE WHO DOUBT
Tucked away at the end of Jude is an easy-to-miss, hard-to-apply, duty of every Christian. “Have mercy on those who doubt” (Jude 22). Hard to apply, because some people’s faith isn’t sturdy enough to handle the doubt’s of others, and other people’s faith is so sturdy it responds harshly to other’s doubts. So, how can we develop mercy for the doubters in our lives?
For starters, consider with me the example of Christ. How often did he ask his disciples, “why did you doubt?” while patiently walking alongside them as their faith grew? How often in your own life has the Savior been forbearing with you? Perhaps the greatest motivation to heed Jude’s instruction is that we want to be imitators of Christ.
A second way to develop mercy in our lives is to consider our own spiritual journey. Personally, I’ve had a variety of doubts or other failures of faith in my life, and many have been transformed into great areas of strength. James encourages us that the testing of our faith is normal and necessary for our spiritual development (see James 1). I once heard Warren Wiersbe say in a message, “a faith that cannot be tested, cannot be trusted.” To be unmerciful toward those who doubt is often the result of forgetting our own struggles.
The next time you encounter a “doubting Thomas”, remember, your responsibility is to have mercy. Take some to listen to their struggle, sympathize with them and ask the Lord how he would like you to be Jesus to them. For those of you struggling with doubts, I’ll take some time in my next post to offer some insight into how to work through your misgivings, uncertainties and fears.
May God develop our character to reflect the mercy of Christ, and remind us of the transformative work His mercy has had in us.