Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
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.
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. 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 8:1-11 (NIV))
Then neither do I condemn you.
Can we, as the church, say the words that Jesus said and mean them?
Think about that for a moment.
It is not our place to condemn, for we are all sinners. Sometimes I think that the church forgets this. Sadly, the non-believing world sees our human faults and equates them to Jesus. How many times do you think Jesus literally shakes His head and thinks, “Will they ever learn?” I know that I have caused some of those episodes.
Just as the church forgets the part about not condemning, the non-believing world ignores that part about leaving your life of sin. To be honest with you, this is not limited just to the non-believing world. The individual members of the Body of Christ all sin. Some of us even have our own little “pet” sins. Still, we try to follow Jesus and give up our sins.
What is the difference between not leaving your sin and trying to leave your sin?
What is the difference between condemning others and reaching out to others?
What is the difference between being a witness for Christ and being a stumbling block?
When do we, as the Body of Christ, need to hold our tongues and hold our actions and when do we need to speak out?
The Body of Christ is made up of many different backgrounds and many different races. We are as different as night and day, yet we all share a common faith that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God, that He died and on the third day He arose, and that He now sits at the right hand of God the Father.
We share a common faith.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 (NIV))
Just who does the world comprise?
It is not made up of people only like you. God loves us all. He loves the sinners who have claimed redemption and He loves the sinners who have not claimed redemption. With what is going on in this country right now, the Body of Christ needs to be in prayer about what God would have us do. We need to listen to that still, small voice and be the Light that He is calling us to be.
And, we also must remember that all sins are equal in the eyes of God. And, yes, that means our own little “pet” sins.
When I think of my sins each day, I am eternally thankful for God’s grace.
It is that grace that we must be showing to the world. Don’t allow the world to shake your faith and do not judge. Judgment and condemnation is not ours to show. Judgment belongs only to Jesus.
Copyright 1998 – 2012 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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