Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Throwing Stones in the Dark

Man, the past three weeks have been B.U.S.Y!! Our youngest son graduated from high school and we've been swamped with all the "stuff" that comes with that! Fun stuff, to be sure, but I'm glad it's winding down. We had FOUR major praises come out of these weeks:

1. #2 son graduated!
2. #1 son and #2 son made it safely to Oklahoma City, driving until 4 AM!
3. #2 son found out he will play basketball for the university he's attending in the fall!!
4. #1 son finally made his decision and will attend a university within driving distance instead of Hawaii Pacific, which he reeeeally had me scared he was going to choose!

Whoop!!

GOD IS GOOD!!

Which brings me to today's post.

In John 8, Jesus is teaching/talking to the crowd in the temple courts. Out of the blue, the Pharisees drag out a woman who has been caught in adultery. (I've always wondered how exactly she was caught!) They want to know whether or not Jesus says it's okay to stone her, which would be the appropriate punishment according to the Law of Moses. Their real motive, however, is to trap Jesus. If he says kill her, then he isn't the warm-and-fuzzy teacher everyone says he is. If he says let her go, then he is a breaker of the Law.

But Jesus is on to them. He knows exactly what's going on in their minds...and their hearts. I absolutely love what happens next! Jesus outwits 'em big time.

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (v. 7)

They all walk away. Unhappily, I'm sure. They didn't catch Jesus in their trap and they didn't get to stone the woman. Bummer. That whole passage is not about the Law or even about adultery. It's about the heart. The ugliness inside the Pharisees hearts.

Which one are you? The stone thrower or the woman?

I've been both. Not something I'm proud of.

All of us have been the woman at one time or another. I don't mean by committing adultery, although many people have. I mean we are all sinners. We all deserve to be punished for our sins. So why doesn't God squash us with a heavenly boulder the moment we sin? Because of this:

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (v. 12)

Jesus gave the adulterous woman a choice: Light or darkness. He told her to "go now and leave your life of sin." In the next verse he told us all, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

That is my prayer for myself and my family. That we will never walk in darkness. That we will keep our eyes on the Light. We don't have to be afraid of being stoned for our sins. We don't have to live in spiritual darkness.

Being in the Light is a beautiful thing!

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