Doubting Thomas

This past Sunday the intermediate Sunday School class read the story of Doubting Thomas - the same gospel that everyone was hearing upstairs in church, John 20:24-29. They located the gospel, the chapter, and the verses, and read the text. We used the New Century Version Youth Bible, which is clearly written and has supplemental stories that relate the scripture to everyday life. The students read one about a boy named Tim who doubted his strict father loved him. This caused Tim to think about God in the same way - he doubted that God loved him, too. The father takes Tim out for some time together, just the two of them, and tells his son that he loves him very much. Tim's doubt is lifted, and his feelings about his father, God, and himself are changed.

After reading this story, the students reflected on how Tim must have felt before and after his doubt was lifted. They related this to the story of Jesus and Thomas. How did Thomas feel towards Jesus when he doubted that He was really alive? How did Thomas feel when his doubt was lifted? How did Thomas feel about the other disciples? Were they alienated from Thomas when he didn't believe that they were telling the truth? Was he then reconciled to them? We started to talk about how we know that God loves us. The children were so engaged in discussion that the time seemed to go quickly and soon they were called back into church.

I like this edition of the bible because it seems to be accessible and yet it is not childish - the children learn new concepts and words every time they read it. Next week the children will explore more post-Resurrection appearances in the gospels, using art materials to express their thoughts about them.

Martha Crawley