TOUCH MY HANDS - A Poem

A poem - written from the perspective of the disciple Thomas:


TOUCH MY HANDS

Life seems so hard, so empty now
So often I feel lost,
Even though I'm one who followed you
And watched you pay the cost.

But then you died and left us
To find our way alone,
All your promises vanished
In a tomb, behind a stone.

I am also angry
Though rumors now abound,
They say that you have risen
But I know you're not around.

I guess I could be persuaded
If proof I could behold,
But should I put my faith alone
In words that I've been told?

We eleven sit together
And they are full of hope,
But I am battling emotions
So strong I can barely cope.

The doors are locked, I checked myself
Yet suddenly he is here,
A man who looks like Jesus
Who asks me to draw near.

I say, "It's me, it's Thomas
With questions, and full of doubt,
Are you who they say you are,
How will I ever find out?"

He speaks to me with patience
"Thomas, put your finger here,
Touch My hands, touch My side
Their message should be clear."

I am trembling as I draw close
I touch the wounds and know,
Indeed this is my Savior
I can feel His Spirit flow.

"Don't be faithless anymore,
Now that you perceive,
And bless those who without this sight
Still faithfully believe."

Oh Lord, we're so like Thomas
With questions, and full of doubt,
And yet we strive to keep our faith
While always seeking You out.

Because even today You speak to us
You listen to our demands,
And soothe away our questions
By saying, "Touch My hands."


- Sharon Kirby
© September 21, 2002



A doubting disciple named Thomas would not believe the Savior had risen until he could physically touch His hands. 

"I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side." 

Eight days later, Jesus appeared to the disciples again, and this time Thomas was there. Jesus told Thomas to touch His wounds, and finished by saying, "Don't be faithless any longer. BELIEVE!"

Needless to say, Thomas did just that!

And then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."

You know what?! That's you and me He's talking about!! WE are the ones He calls blessed, because we believe with the eyes of faith. Because of the Holy Spirit, who is present with us at all times, God can be as real to us as His Son was to Thomas.

(read the story of Thomas in John 20:24-29)

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (Hebrews 11:1)


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