The best way to prove the reality of a situation is by experience. If it is January and the weather on our computer tells us it is ten below zero outside, we do not need to go outside to find proof of that being cold. If you live in the northern part of the United States, you have experience that tells you ten below is cold.
Other times we are confronted by situations that are not know to us through experience. That is what happens to Thomas in the reading from John. He has had little to no experience with people coming back to life. There were the occasions during Jesus ministry where life was returned to someone but that was done by Jesus and now he was dead. No matter what the others said, Thomas was not buying it until he experienced it.
Proof of a good marriage falls under the category of needing to experience it to know it. The temptation is to come up with a list of ten proofs that you have a good marriage. Reality is, the only proof is the experience you have. When we experience our marriage as good, we want to invest more deeply in it. When it is not so good we are not sure it is worth the investment.
All of the unknown of marriage can causes us to hold back and not seek for more in our marriage. If we choose to hold back, our marriage will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, we will never experience the good we are created to experience. This is where our marriages can learn from Thomas. Sure he doubted, anyone who tells you they have never doubted is a liar. Thomas did not let his doubt stop him, he kept striving for the experience of Jesus, the proof that the promise was fulfilled. We must risk and seek to experience a good, or even great marriage if we are ever going to realize what we are seeking.
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