John 8:10 (NKJV) When Jesus stood up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
This scripture has a very powerful and relevant message that many need to hear, especially those who at some point in their walk with God, have experienced failure and the accompanying shame, rejection, condemnation, etc. Let me say from the start, I have experienced all of those and more; BUT by the Grace of God, “I’m still Standing”.
It is amazing to me that in the days that Jesus walked this earth; there were self-righteous people, as they are today. People who are quick to point out your failure; yet, forgetting their own, as if they haven’t done anything. Let’s look at the scribes and Pharisees in this portion of the scripture. They brought a woman to Jesus, saying they caught her in the act of adultery. Jesus didn’t chide her, he didn’t address them, he didn’t ask them where is the man; he just stooped down and began writing in the sand. They were like many people today, who when they come to the knowledge of someone’s failure, their number one thing is exploitation, they keep spreading it, telling others of others failure until someone listens and joins in. They try to destroy a person’s reputation, causing others to look at that person in the wrong way. Who made you the judge? Who gave you the right? Better yet, what have you done…?
These men realized Jesus wasn’t paying them any attention, so they began to quote the scripture to Jesus, saying what Moses said. Now, how do you quote the word to “The Word”? “The Word” knew what the word said and he still didn’t acknowledge what they were saying. They kept pushing Him trying to get Him to respond, but all they received was no response. Jesus was showing us a perfect example of how we should handle these situations in our lives. When people come to exploit our failure, we should just ignore them, as if they hadn’t said anything. Sure, we must go to God and acknowledge our failure, repent and turn away; but that is between you and God. There is no conference between you, God, or the people to determine your fate. God said, “Come to Me”. It is He who justifies, He who cleanse us of our unrighteousness.
Now, when Jesus finally decided to address these men, he looked up and said; “Let him who is without sin, cast the first stone!” I can imagine how these men looked. They probably looked at him with a blank stare and then turned and looked at each other, as if to say, “What kind of response was that?” Those few words were so potent, that they passed through their minds and went straight to their hearts. The bible said their own conscience convicted them, of their failure and they turned and walked away. Jesus then looked up and noticed they had left and turned to the Women and said…Women, where are your accusers, where are those who condemned you? The woman replied, there’s no one and Jesus said, “neither do I…go and sin no more”.
The words that Jesus spoke are still as potent as they were when He first said them. If people would remember the words that Jesus spoke, when they are running around spreading your failure, they would quickly stop; being reminded of their own failure and just begin to pray. Paul said, in the book of Galatians 6:1; that if we see our brother overtaken in a fault that we “who are spiritual” should go to that brother, in the spirit of meekness, with the intent to restore, considering ourselves, that we too are prone to failure; less we ourselves fall. Not to humiliate, shame or point the finger as if to say, “you’re finished, washed up, God can’t use you anymore. When we do it the correct way, we end up empowering our brother or sister; instead of, shaming them and making them feel like they have done the unpardonable sin. My fellow believers we have to do better, we have to return to the Word and live as the Word says we should. We have to respond how the Word tells us. We have to treat our bothers and sister, how the Word tells us. The bible says, that when the world sees the love that we have toward each other; then, and only then will they know that we are the disciples of Jesus Christ.
As I said earlier, I have experienced this very scripture, in my life. I have heard fellow believers say to me, say about me, things you would never imagine. “Shame on you, you know you shouldn’t have done that.” I have heard people say that my life is just “mess”. When they heard I was getting married again, they had the nerve to say “my wedding was just “mess” and God wasn’t going to bless it. Some even said, that by having a child in my new marriage, that God blessed me with, that he was just “mess.” God Forbid! I had to ignore them and I didn’t address them. (Oh but I wanted to, I wanted to exploit them and rake them across hot coals) Did it hurt, when I heard it…Yes it hurt; but it didn’t destroy me. It caused me to pull closer to my God, to get in His Space, to hold and embrace His presence. You see, the enemy meant it all for evil, but God used it to show me that it didn’t matter what people said, because people are always going to have something to say about others. The only thing that mattered is that you “hear Me.” That is what God is saying to you. Hear what He’s saying…Run to His space…inquire of Him. You’ll see…you’ll experience His Love. God is also saying to you that it doesn’t matter who they are or what they are saying; all that matters is how much “Papa God” loves you and how He wants you to rise up from the ashes of your past and of your pain! Embrace the Love of the Father. The fulfilling of your Purpose needs this experience!
What am I doing now? I’m still pursuing Him…I’m still experiencing, His grace, His presence and His voice actively, in my life. I have risen to the occasion and I AM FULFILLING PURPOSE! God has been good to me. My wife and I are experiencing levels of God, that we have never experienced and we love it and do love each other.
I’m going to close this post with an excerpt from something my wife said. She said, “Don’t allow open embarrassment, shame, guilt and people to condemn you. You are NOT Disqualified! When God has set you free, you are free indeed! You are free to worship, free to live, free to walk into all of God’s divine Purpose for your life!”
Be Blessed!
Willie