Sometimes we can be sceptical... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2025

It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.
Luke 1:3–4

Sometimes we can be sceptical. When something is reported to us, we ask ourselves if it is true and trustworthy.

This was the case with Theophilus, probably a high Roman official who had been told some things about Jesus Christ. Now this man apparently didn’t dismiss what he had heard as rumours. No, he wanted certainty. If these things turned out to be true, he couldn’t simply ignore them. Obviously, Theophilus had talked about it with his friend Luke. Luke knew in detail about the facts surrounding Jesus, for he had “perfect understanding of all things from the very first” (v. 3). Therefore, he now writes Theophilus a detailed report so that he could see the “certainty of those things” he had heard about. This report is the Gospel according to Luke.

We do not know how Theophilus reacted to the report. Perhaps he felt like the Queen of Sheba, who had heard about the wisdom of Solomon, the Israelite king. She too wanted certainty about what she had heard, so she set out to meet Solomon personally. Her conclusion? “It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe the words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard” (1 Kings 10:6–7).

Whatever you have heard about Jesus Christ, go back to the sources, to the reliable biblical accounts. Like Theophilus, to “know the certainty of things” we must read the Bible.

Today’s reading: Genesis 7:17-8:5 · 1 Peter 4:7-11