Thomas demanded proof. The resurrection of a dead man violated everything he knew. Even when the other disciples testified, he held firm: he would not believe until he saw and touched the wounds himself. Yet doubt is not the opposite of faith. Sometimes it is the very gateway to genuine belief.

Jesus came a week later, and he did not turn away from Thomas. He extended his hands—scarred, pierced—the very evidence Thomas had demanded. But Thomas did not reach out to touch them. He fell to his knees instead. "My Lord and my God."

This confession stands among the most complete declarations of Christ in the New Testament. The disciple with the greatest doubts became the one who made the deepest proclamation. And Jesus turned his answer toward us: Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed. We live within that very blessing.