Extending Grace

There are so many creations on this earth that I marvel at. I get completely sidetracked by nature, even if I've seen the particular tree or whatever 100 times. Seasons, animals, people. The creation I have fallen in love with overall the most, however, is woman. Look around. I have yet to find another creation of His more beautiful, frail, strong, fleeting, constant. We come in different sizes, noise levels, shapes. Men reflect so many attributes of God, but we are also an image bearer in our own rights as well. We carry within us the nurturing, comforting, peace of God in our creation and in His Spirit.

With that being said, what's the fastest way to befriend a woman? Compliment her? no. Find something in common that you both like? Maybe for some, but no. Slander? yes. The very fastest way to make a friend with another female is to cut down something or someone around you. Think about it. Sitting in class, or a waiting room, or whatever. You could make small talk or compliment her shoes and sometimes it will begin a conversation, but it'll likely die out. However, make a comment about the teacher's clothes, or the doctor taking a ridiculous amount of time when you have much better things to do. She'll jump right on board. Not she. We. me.

I've been thinking lately on John 8:1-11. I'm going to go ahead and post it so we'll be on the same page. It's the story of the accused woman standing in front of Jesus in the temple.

"1but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 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. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 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. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” "

the verse before that is "Then each went to his own home."

There are a couple of points that we can't see in the verses alone. One being that Jewish law didn't allow for compromising circumstances to be enough to accuse someone. There had to be an actual witness to the act. These men, or at least one, would have actually had to spy or burst in to actually see this woman committing adultery.

Second, the Law of Moses didn't allow for this punishment for this sin. In order for a woman to be stoned for adultery, she would need to be a betrothed virgin...and, there would have to be both parties in the sin present so that both would be condemned and stoned.

Third, as if that wasn't' bad enough, Roman law did not allow for them to execute people. If Jesus had, indeed, said to stone her, he would have been guilty under Roman law.

These men really wanted Jesus gone, and they really wanted this woman humiliated and punished. Most believe the entire thing was a set up, including an allowance of letting the man she was with escape on purpose.

Here's where this applies in our life. How many women pass through our day to day lives? Each moment, you have a choice as to which party you belong to. One, full of accusers wanting punishment. One with Grace.

This woman was guilty. Don't forget that fact. She stood there before them, incredibly guilty. I wonder how she was. Was she meek and terrified? Was she proud and refused to show her fear? There's probably a good reason that her disposition is left out. It's because it doesn't matter. And these men had a serious issue with her. What we don't know is if she was just a random prostitute from the street that they chose to use as a tool to trap Jesus, or was she a woman living a secret life of sin? Did they have what we would call a good reason to be angry? Did she sleep with a man one of them were close to and pulled him from God or his wife? Did she say hurtful things to one of their wives causing her to weep for hours? It doesn't tell us if they had a "good" reason...a personal reason to dislike this woman. It tells us this: She was guilty.

Jesus himself didn't approve of her sin. He told her that. "Go now and leave your life of sin." But the grace, oh..the grace. They all left, one by one. They knew they couldn't stand there as if they'd never sinned...even the proud arrogant ones that were the last to leave. She could have ran! She could have fled from that temple were countless eyes looked at her, quite possibly, half dressed (or not at all) body and uncovered head. But she had seen something. Something in the eyes of the One they were calling the Messiah. Grace. She stood there, probably in awe and fear, waiting. She probably struggled so badly wanting to flee from the eyes of some, but wanting with everything that was inside of her for the eyes bent down to the ground to look back up at her. "Then neither do I condemn you..."

If Jesus Himself looks at a woman that is standing knee deep in her own sin, then who am I to EVER condemn ANYONE of anything, whether true or flat out slander?! Reading this passage makes me understand the Jewish tradition of tearing your clothes and throwing ashes over your head as you wail and weep. How arrogant...how selfish and judgemental I have lived my life. Faces of women from my past circle around me as I pray that someone in their lives will reach out and show them the Grace that I refused them. That someone, anyone at all, will not fail them as I did. That someone will step over from that group of accusers, and be the one using love to cast out fear and extending grace no matter the circumstances, no matter their response. They may throw it back in their face, but who cares? Is there someone in your life that you could extend grace to? Someone that you'd rather hate? or at least extremely dislike? Sometimes, we must swallow something that is tougher than we expected...but what else has Christianity cost you? Christ gave up His life for me, what has it cost me?

lengthy post, if you've made it to the end, bless your heart.