Casting Stones

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down a d wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued to ask Him, he raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. ” (John 8:3 – 7 NKJV)

When you continue to read the rest of this passage, all of the Pharisees were convicted and left.  They could not condemn her because they could not say they had never sinned. 

I wish I could say that I have never judged someone, but that would be a lie.  However, as a person who has been saved by the grace of God myself,  I need to look at others through a lens of compassion.  Compassion is the very heart of God. We see it Jesus’ life and in every aspect of His ministry. 

We need to recognize that we can not look at someone and see their heart – only God can. We will never walk in their shoes or fully understand their experiences. We can not see the parts of them that are broken or that are healing.  We as Christians are called to love everyone,  even those who are not our friends but who might persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48).

I have heard people say that Christians are hypocritical.  That means that we often behave or talk in the direct opposite way our moral standards indicate.  I am the first one to say that I am working on looking more like Jesus every day, but I am not there yet. So how can I expect others to be perfect? But we also shouldn’t deceive ourselves  and forget about where we were before  our Salvation.  If you gossip,  envy, choose unforgiveness, or are jealous, then you are not living like the new creation you are supposed to be (2 Cor. 5:17). We are called to live like Christ, which means walking with love and compassion.  We can use our lives to help people grow into their true potential, or we can keep them in chains. I know which type of Christian I want to be – so I put aside the sin that so easily entangled me (Hebrews 12:1), renew my mind, and reset my heart to do the work that God has placed before me. Amen.