A group of Namburdiri Brahmans were performing their ritual ablutions in the water of a temple basin. The apostle was watching them throw water into the air while they chanted their prayers. “Why do you do that?” he asked. “It is our sacrifice to the gods,” they said. “Why don’t your gods accept it, then? It keeps falling back on you,” said Thomas. The Brahmans were indignant. “Who can make water stay up in the air?” “I can,” said Thomas, and when they asked him to prove it, he said he would but only if they would promise to be baptized if he succeeded. They agreed, and the saint threw the water up and it caught and hung in the sunlight glittering like diamonds.

Like most legends, there’s not enough evidence to either prove or disprove the tale. It’s just a story handed down from generation to generation, undoubtedly embellished along the way. But we should not be too quick to discount the story of Thomas’ miracle simply because it is far-fetched. After all, causing water to float in air is not so different from walking on water like Peter did in Matthew 14 or cursing a politician with blindness as Paul did in Acts 13. Thomas was an apostle of Jesus Christ commissioned in the same manner as they were.

What makes the story of Thomas so hard to accept, while most Christians freely grant that Peter walked on water and Paul blinded a man? There’s the lack of authorial control, of course — legends are notorious for being altered in transit — but there’s also something else. Perhaps we just don’t want the impossible to be so close. We know that God can perform miracles, that He will demonstrate His power to convince sincere doubters, and that He will confirm His word with “signs and wonders” (Hebrews 2:4). But even with all that in mind, we’re more comfortable relegating miracles to “the greats” or to the mists of time.

Closer to home, what if you heard that a preacher in a neighboring town make water hang in mid-air to convince a wavering convert? Would you belive it? Both in our own lives and in the actions of those around us, we need to regain the ability to believe in the impossible when God is involved. Reason is not obsolete and logic is not dead, but God can change the rules — and that means we must be ready to work with a rule-changing God!

What would you say to a “Thomas” story — one that seems impossible? Has God changed physical or institutional rules in your life? How? Visit the comments section and tell us about impossible things that have happened!