I was praying about what I should write about today and I got to thinking about the men accusing the adulterous woman, ready to stone her for her sins… Do you know that story? It can be found in John 8:1-11:
“Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
We live in a day and age where everyone thinks they have the authority and the right to “bash” or to “gossip” about someone else, they feel self-righteously that “their opinion” is justified over that of someone else’s, even if it is only based on hearsay and not on fact (or truth).
In this day and age you can’t say ANYTHING without SOMEONE becoming offended. There are people who actually take joy in “stirring the pot” and causing emotional pain and discomfort when it affects someone else.
EVERYONE has an opinion about EVERYTHING and (just like the scripture I listed above), they are ready, willing and able to emotionally (and sometimes even physically) cause pain to whoever it is they are pointing a finger at, without question, because they feel “justified” in doing so… Self-righteous indignation, and it grieves Holy Spirit, if they would only listen, they would feel Him trying to fill their spirits with conviction, but they choose not to, they harden their hearts and refuse to listen… And I believe that even now, Jesus is watching what occurs, and taking His finger, bending down and quietly writing something on Heaven’s ground. (And if we are to be totally honest, there is not a one of us who at one point or another has not been the “they” I’m referring to, but hopefully have allowed Holy Spirit to teach us (at some point), what it feels like to be on the other end of that pointing finger so that we can turn around and point it at our own selves for judgement).
Today, it would be probably fall under the category of “grown-up bullying.” The truth of the matter is the only One who is the judge of ANYBODY is God. The Word of God measures the heart of a person, God is the only One who can see into the heart. ONLY God has the right to judge (as indicated in Hebrews 4:12-12):
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”
The men who felt they had the authority of “stoning” the woman caught in adultery felt “superior” in themselves and justified in their judgement of her -that is up until Jesus calmly asked them, “who among you is without sin?”
Is Jesus saying the same thing to you? These men thought they were justified in their actions, and based upon the laws in the Old Testament, they were –
UNTIL JESUS…
This story is in the Word of God for a reason, I believe it is in there so that WE can remember to do a “heart-check” on our own hearts… Who are YOU condemning? And do you REALLY have the right to do so? What is God saying as He looks at you in how you treat others? What excuses are you giving to your words? Your actions? God sees us in totality – He sees the good, the bad and the ugly of us, it’s a very dangerous thing to play God and think you have the right to judge someone else. Man looks at the outside appearance of a person and of a situation, but God, the Creator, looks at a person’s heart. Matthew 7:1-5 says:
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
Once Holy Spirit shows you things within yourself that need changing – change them. If you don’t, you will be going “around and around” like a dog chasing his tail, until you get it right, or you will be spiritually stunted because you refuse to change what Holy Spirit is telling you to change…. Oh, I have done that! And let me tell you, He will NOT let you go “ahead of the class” until you show Him that you have learned what it is that He wants you to know and are ready for Him to graduate you to a higher level! And as I’ve stated throughout ALL my posts, Holy Spirit was sent to us to grow us, to comfort us, to mature us in Christ. We still have free will, so if we refuse to allow Holy Spirit to change those things within us that need changing, we can stay spiritually stunted at that level and miss out on ALL that Holy Spirit has for us, which includes blessings and callings. Stubbornness and willfulness is as rebellion, or as it says in James 1:22:
“Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only.”
And in James 4:11-12 it says:
“Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?”
We have to be so careful to make sure that we are concentrating on what WE need to change about our OWN selves, and to walk in love with others. To build each other up and not tear each other down. The Bible says in Matthew 12:25:
“A House divided against itself will not stand.”
God looks at a person’s heart, when I read that account about the adulterous woman, I found myself asking – what happened to her that she would allow herself to be in an adulterous relationship in the first place? Clearly she was broken and did not consider her own self-worth. Somehow she allowed herself to live outside of God’s will for her life. What in life had brought her to such a low point? She knew she was doing wrong, Jesus did not condone her actions, He simply kept her from being stoned by those who thought they were “better” than her, and told her to “go and sin no more.” God sees the heart of EVERY matter. God sees the cause, God sees the effect. WE are not God, we don’t. We don’t know how far our words and actions will push someone. We don’t know what they have been through, what they are going through – but GOD does. What God tells us to do is walk IN LOVE.
Are YOU walking in love?
What is Holy Spirit speaking to your heart as you read these words? If you profess to be a Christian, you MAY be the ONLY Jesus someone gets to see… Do they see Him in the way you treat others? How do you know that whatever you are condemning someone else for, that they are not already condemning their own selves in a harsher way then you ever could?
Let’s take this even a step further (because I am wiggling in my own seat, as I read my own words here, in the areas I myself know I need to work on)… The Bible tells us in Hebrews 9:27:
“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”
We will stand before God and give an account of our lives, Matthew 12:36-37 says:
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Proverbs 21:23 tells us:
“Whoever keeps his mouth and tongue, keeps himself out of trouble.”
We are called to walk in love, to build each other up (and not tear one another down). We are called to love as Jesus loved, because He is our example. If there is something that bothers you about someone – lift them up in prayer! Intercede on their behalf! Ask God what He wants you to do, how He wants you to proceed. If we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus, if we are part of His Called Remnant, if we are professing to be “Christians” or “Christ-followers” than we need to make sure that we are double-checking our own hearts (instead of being worried about how someone else’s is!) and love as Jesus loved. Jesus said in John 13:34-35:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
You are not responsible for someone else’s actions, we are responsible for our own… We will not stand and give an account for the actions of someone else, we WILL stand up and give an account for our own. Jesus showed the adulterous woman compassion. Jesus showed her forgiveness, Jesus showed her love. I’m quite sure that woman’s life was unbelievably changed. When you get to Heaven and you are surrounded by those who have gone on before you, wouldn’t it be nice to be surprised by seeing someone come up to you, someone who’s life you didn’t even know you had an affect on – someone who says:
“Hey, I just want to say thank you for showing me the kindness you showed me. Your patience/forgiveness/thoughtfulness/love made a such a difference in my life, it changed my perspective and helped me to see God loves me. Thank you.”
What greater reward than knowing that God used YOU to make a difference in someone else’s life all because instead of “being a pot-stirrer” you became a “seed-sower,” instead of being hurtful by being a gossip with others, you became an Advocate of Jesus, by redirecting the conversation and taking the heat off of someone else (and by doing that making others feel ashamed for participating in gossip in the first place). They WILL know who you are, Who you represent by the love that you bear and in doing so, God *may* give you the greatest gift of bringing someone who sees the difference in you (Jesus) to Christ. Now THAT’S the BEST kind of name writing – right into God’s Book of Life! Help us Lord to be people who do so! In Jesus’ precious name. AMEN.
9
0
20