There’s a story in the Bible packed with many lessons, which I find myself drawn to read time and again.
In the Gospel of John, we read about a woman caught in adultery. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees bring the woman to stand before Jesus. They tell Jesus that the law commands that the woman must get stoned.
The teachers and Pharisees are more than likely holding stones in their hands intending to kill the woman when Jesus catches them off guard with His response, “But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.” (John 8:6(b)-8)
Fast forward to today. Consider our current world of politics and how quickly stones get thrown in an attempt to kill the reputation of anyone whose viewpoint contradicts or threatens another.
Or, also consider how quickly families are divided by opposing viewpoints. Hurtful words get spoken, stones get thrown. It is impossible to retrieve a spoken word or a thrown stone.
The next part of our story is compelling beyond words: “At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.” (John 8:9)
Those of us who are older are to set an example for the younger. We model after people who are older than us—parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and so on. Often, the “older” influencers affect the trajectory of our lives (whether good or bad).
It’s time to throw down our stones and lay down our pride.
If we aren’t intentional in daily surrendering our lives to Christ, the more life experiences we obtain, the higher the risk we face of walking around with stones in our hands. It’s easy to throw stones at people who have hurt us and caused us great pain when we respond from our brokenness.
I know I am guilty of throwing a few stones of my own.
But the stones we clutch are a part of the problem, not the solution. Our skewed viewpoints lead us to sin against one another and God.
Even though Jesus was stooped down, writing in the dirt, He heard the crowd dropping their stones and walking away, “Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:10-11)
Imagine the godly influence we can have in the lives of our children and grandchildren when we pray with hearts of humility, confessing our sins to God. It is God’s place to vindicate and it is our place to surrender our rebellious hearts and wills to Him.
Let’s throw down our stones, so we can be set free to raise our hands to the only One without sin.
Stay the Course…
Sheila
