A few years back, a colleague took a short leave of absence because she had a difficult time with her parent’s divorce. She was in her early thirties at the time, and very successful professionally, but hearing the news that her father cheated was more than she could process. Her father had been her world, and she put him on a very high pedestal; always saying that she wouldn’t marry unless she found someone that held his kind of standards. Her parents divorcing after 30 years not only drove a wedge in the relationship she had with her father, but she became very jaded about men who cheated. Whenever she heard about a man’s infidelity in his relationship, she would unload the most venomous words towards him, without even knowing the people involved personally. Now, years after her parents have moved on with their lives, her anger towards men who cheat has only gotten worse.
Our Lord and Savior was teaching in the synagogue courts when the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. During earlier biblical days, this was an offense for which a woman would be stoned to death, and that is exactly what the religious Pharisees had in mind. They made her stand before the assembly of people with the sole purpose of making her completely subject to the judgment of Christ. Underhanded and malicious, the Pharisees were hoping Jesus would make a mistake so they could accuse him.
Of course, Jesus knew what the Pharisees were up to, and he didn’t get upset or respond hastily. He seemed to turn a deaf ear to them. He stooped down and wrote on the ground. This must have baffled them something awful. It is good wisdom in many cases to be slow to speak and even slower to act. They tried their best to get Jesus Christ all riled up, but he didn’t budge. They continued to demand an answer, so Jesus stood up again and said in John 8:7(NLT), “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” After he spoke those words, he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
When those men heard his words, they slipped away one by one. Why? Because they couldn’t escape the truth that they all had sinned, every one of them. They had no leg to stand on in trying to accuse someone else. Jesus Christ is the truth, and darkness will never be a match for the truth. He paralyzed the sinister motives of the Pharisees, and they had no choice but to vacate. When Jesus finally stood up, only the woman remained. Jesus didn’t convict her but forgave the woman’s sins and told her not to continue doing sinful things.
When Jesus Christ gave the disciples a template for prayer, he told them in Matthew 6:15 that if we refuse to forgive others, our Heavenly Father will not forgive us. It doesn’t matter who the person is, we have no right to injure them (or injure ourselves) by holding resentment in our hearts because of the wrong they’ve done. This woman I worked with allowed bitterness against her father to control her heart. And not only this, but she was filled with pride and arrogance, because she would not humble herself to forgive as God commands. Romans 3:23 tells us that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all make mistakes, and the very least we can do in consideration of God’s goodness is to forgive others for the mistakes they make and pray that they will learn to do better.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Who Is without Sin?” written by Kim Times, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2019. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.