There is a story in the bible about a woman who committed adultery. At the time, that could lead to her being stoned to death. Many of the leaders had gathered to decide her fate. I think about how terrified she must have been, and I also question where the man was who she supposedly committed adultery with, but I guess that’s for another day. Jesus came over and kneeled and started writing something in the sand. It is believed that he was writing the sins of the men who had gathered. The bible says the older men left first and then the younger. The men that day were probably feeling righteous in their decision to stone this adulterer because it was the right thing to do according to the law. But as soon as Jesus began to expose their sins, the older men quickly realized that they had no room to judge this woman based on their own actions. The younger men took longer, maybe because the list wasn’t as long or because they hadn’t learned the humbleness that comes with age. When the men had left Jesus told the woman to go and live her life without sin. I can imagine her getting to her feet, drying her eyes, and feeling the joy of an unconditional love that very probably she had never experienced before.
I feel like unconditional love and acceptance is something this world is lacking a little lately. We are too quick to let the differences between us define how we treat the people around us. I am very blessed though to have many people in my life that love me despite the many reasons not to. For example, my best girlfriend Angie. We are by far an odd couple. The one thing we fully agree on is that we both love God. Other than that she is a county girl from Michigan, and I am a city girl from Brooklyn. She is tall, and I am definitely not. She has a beautiful southern bell look, and I am straight out of My Cousin Vinny. She skips dinner, and I skip lunch. She refuses to use the microwave, and I microwave everything. We don’t even agree on politics. But we love each other tremendously, and none of that matters. Neither of us judges the other for who we are; we just accept each other. We don’t focus on what we do different; we focus on the love we have for each other. One thing that is really special about us is that no matter what it is, when one of us messes up, the other is there to lift us back up. I am so grateful to have Angie in my life and pity the person who tried to throw stones at me. I’m pretty sure first she would write in the sand, you are beautiful, and you are loved, and you are the perfect child of God. And then, before they could walk away, she would hit them with a rock.
I hope that you all have an Angie in your life and that you appreciate them fully. I hope even more that you will learn to write your transgressions in the sand before beginning to judge someone else. And you may want to consider keeping a rock in your pocket to remind you to stay humble when the world tries to tell you otherwise. Just try not to throw it😊
John 8:7
Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.
