Patient with Each Other's Doubts
Month 12: Risen & Sending · Loving Others
Today's Scripture
Read together: Jude 20-22
20 But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life. 22 And indeed, have mercy on those who doubt;
Memory Verse
“Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.””— John 20:29 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Hebrews 5-7
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Jesus is a High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek — able to save completely those who come to God through Him.)The Heart of It
This week we watched Jesus deal gently with doubting Thomas. And Jude tells us to treat one another the very same way. "On some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear" (Jude 22-23). Many translations bring out the tenderness in that little phrase. "On some have compassion, who are doubting." When a brother or sister starts to waver, our first instinct is often to argue. Or roll our eyes. Or write them off. Jude says no. Have compassion. Jesus didn't humiliate Thomas in front of the others. He came back for him and met his need. That's the pattern for how we love a doubter. A discouraged friend. A wobbly sibling. A child whose faith is shaky tonight.
But compassion isn't lazy. It doesn't just sit there. Jude first tells us to keep "building yourselves up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit," and keeping ourselves "in the love of God" (Jude 20-21). You can only steady a wobbling friend if you are standing on solid ground yourself. The strong help carry the doubting. Not by shaming them. They stay near. They pray for them. They gently show them the truth. The disciples did this with Thomas. They kept him in their company for those eight long days. They didn't kick him out. In your family, this means making your home a safe place to ask hard questions. A child who is scared of being mocked will simply stop talking. A doubt spoken out loud can be answered. But a doubt buried in silence only grows. Love is patient (). And that includes being patient with each other's questions.
Around the Table
When a friend isn't sure about something true, we don't laugh at them. We're kind, and we help them. That's how Jesus treated Thomas.
Let's do it: Practice saying in a gentle voice, "It's okay. I'll help you." Say it like you're talking to a sad friend.
Jude says to have compassion on people who doubt. Being right isn't enough. We have to be kind too. We help. We don't shame.
Let's talk: How does it feel when someone makes fun of you for not understanding something? How can we be different?
Jude calls us to build up our own faith and gently bring back doubters with compassion (vv. 20-22). The strong help carry the wavering. Never with contempt.
Let's go deeper: How can our family become a place where it's safe to ask hard questions about God instead of hiding them?
💬 Conversation Starter
When you're struggling to understand something, what helps more? Someone getting frustrated with you? Or someone patiently helping? How can we be the patient kind?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Christianity isn't afraid of questions. So neither should we be. When someone doubts, the loving move is patient evidence and gentle care. We answer "with gentleness and respect" (). We don't mock. Mockery only pushes a struggling heart further away.
For Dad · Go Deeper
How a family handles doubt may shape a child's faith more than how it handles certainty. Studies of young people who walk away from the church keep finding the same thread. They had real questions, and they felt they couldn't ask them at home. Or they got shut down when they did. The doubt didn't destroy them. The silence did. Jude's word "compassion" should reshape how you respond when your kids ask the hard ones. "Why does God allow suffering?" "How do we know the Bible is true?" "Did Jesus really rise?" Welcome those questions like gold, because a child willing to ask is a child still engaged. You won't always have a tidy answer, and that's fine. "Let's find out together" is a powerful sentence. The goal isn't to win arguments with your kids. It's to keep them close enough that their faith can grow up. Thomas's faith grew that way, in the patient company of people who refused to give up on him.
Draws on: Gary M. Burge & others on Jude; and research summarized in David Kinnaman, You Lost Me.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You for being so patient with our doubts. Help us be patient and kind with each other's questions, just like Jesus was with Thomas. Make our home a safe place to bring You anything. Build us up in faith. Help us carry one another. In Jesus' name, amen."
Jesus was patient with Thomas. So I'll be gentle and kind with everyone who is still finding their faith.