Are You From Missouri?
Friday, August 2, 2024
“I come from a state that raises corn and cotton, and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” – William Duncan Vandiver, 1899
And now you know why Missouri is called the “Show Me State”!
William Duncan Vandiver was a Democratic congressman from Missouri, serving four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1897 to 1905. He made the comments above as part of a speech he delivered at a naval banquet in Philadelphia.
I wonder if Congressman Vandiver was any relation to the Apostle Thomas? After all, “Doubting Thomas” got his nickname for telling the other disciples that he wouldn’t believe that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to them “unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side” (John 20:25). Of course, Jesus called Thomas’s bluff and when He did, all the unbelieving apostle could do was respond by saying, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
Likewise, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders mocked Jesus while He was on the cross, saying, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him.” They must have been from Missouri, too!
James, the half-brother of Jesus, also weighed in on this subject in his epistle. In James 2:17-18, he writes, “So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
Perhaps the definitive Bible passage concerning true faith not requiring proof first is Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The rest of the chapter lists the members of the “Hall of Faith”, all of whom took God at His word and didn’t need physical proof.
My friend, does your faith more closely resemble that of Thomas, James, the chief priests, or the writer of Hebrews? Or how about the Roman centurion, whom Jesus praised in Matthew 8:10 with the following words…
“Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” (NKJV)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
