"An Act of Grace pt.2"

In modern church today, we as Christians can be so microscopic when looking at other people's lives, and yet so telescopic when it comes to examining ourselves. We act as if everyone else's problems are on the front lines of our interactions with them, but our own issues are so far off that we couldn't see them if we possessed God's omniscience.

Jesus addresses this reality for us in John chapter 8 when he puts the Pharisees, or "religious people," in their place after attempting to trap Jesus with their haughty questioning. Apparently they "caught" a woman in adultery and brought her before Jesus to test him. There is no record of how exactly they caught her; perhaps one of these supposed upright Pharisees was involved...? I digress... These men, according to the Law of Moses, would have been justified in stoning this woman to death. So they present their proposition to Jesus, with the law in mind.

Then Jesus responds, "If any one of you is without (this) sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Jesus puts these self proclaimed sons of God in their place by basically saying to them, "If any one of you is "without sin" (early manuscripts say, "this sin") then you go right ahead and start stoning her." Humbled with tails tucked, these men leave one by one, stones still on the ground. But then Jesus turns his attention toward the young lady, who to the Pharisees was the culprit but to Jesus the victim. She is indeed guilty and punishment would be justified, and even though the Pharisees were not qualified in dishing it out, Jesus certainly was. Instead of giving her what she deserves (according to the law), he asserts His Grace; Verse 10-11, "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."

Here's my suspicion:
Most of us are so quick to pinpoint someone else's stumbling, yet we are so aloof when it comes to our own. We can be so judgemental as Christians. Instead of pulling people toward Christ, we push them away, thinking that we're pushing them toward Him. That is the problem: We spend too much time "pushing," when in reality, if we were truly "in Christ" all we would have to do is "pull." The point is, we can't "pull" anybody toward a place that we ourselves don't reside.

Here's my challenge:
Jesus asserted Grace where punishment belonged, and we should quickly learn how to do the same thing. That is what truly changes a person's heart; kind of like God asserting Jesus on the Cross rather than his wrath, changed ours. Read John 8:2-11, Matthew 7:1-6 and/or Luke 6:37-42 in your quiet moments with God. Pray that God would give you a softer and more discerning heart in your dealings with other people. There are times when people need to be held accountable (graciously), and there are times when they, like little helpless children in need of encouragement, need Grace. But be certain of this: There is never a place for condemnation and always space for Grace.

Be blessed family