Daily Devotional for June 19, 2016

John 8:6-8
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt.

Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson.  Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO.  All rights reserved.

Have you ever been around two little kids who were arguing, and rather than get in the middle of things and settle the conflict, you stood back to see what they could do?  There are several reasons to try this (if you can stand it!)…1) the children are allowed to grow and work through their issue; 2) the adult demonstrates how petty and insignificant the “fuss” is; and 3) the adult withholds attention and choosing sides, which is often what the kids are after in the first place.

Here’s how I believe this applies to this scripture passage from John 8...

1. Jesus was drawing in the dirt and listening to the religious scholars and Pharisees argue about stoning a woman caught in adultery.  By their own behavior, they were acting in an unloving manner.  Jesus made no discrepancy among people…He spent time with everyone from religious leaders to murderers, adulterers, lepers and other “undesirables.”  He never played favorites or talked down to anyone. By drawing in the dirt, Jesus was essentially saying, “Work it out amongst yourselves.”
2. Jesus was also demonstrating how insignificant this argument was to Him…so unimportant that He didn’t even look up from doodling in the sand to give much of a response.
3. Jesus did not choose sides.  More importantly, He put the problem smack in the laps of those involved and challenged the one who was guiltless to cast the first stone.

There are several lessons here, and chief among them is the fact that none of us is perfect.  Not a single one of us has the right to judge another…or to call him/her out for their sins.  Before we even think of doing so, we had better take a hard look at our own lives.  Would we want someone to point out OUR faults and failures?  Would we want the world to know how WE have failed to honor God in our thoughts, words and actions?

Additionally, are we busy pleasing Jesus – and serving Him?  Or are we more concerned with making ourselves look big and important… or with making sure that everyone knows how good we are, how much we give and do for others, and how pleased God must be with us?  Are we busy trying to get Jesus to pick favorites?  Because I can assure you that this is a huge waste of time for everyone!

This is a good day to humble ourselves before God and admit that we are nowhere near worthy to “cast the first stone.”  We will always be loved unconditionally and incredibly by Jesus…but He will never have a favorite.  And we just as well figure that out now and get busy serving out of gratitude rather than any effort to gain extra “points.”  We need to quit wasting our time on pettiness and discrimination.  We need to stop trying to figure out who is right and wrong and concentrate on sharing the Good News of Jesus and how much He loves each and every one of us…the good, the bad, and the ugly! 

We need to stop making excuses, passing judgments, and disparaging/condemning others…and take a long, hard look in the mirror.  And we don’t have a minute to waste.  Are you ready to drop your rock and fall on your knees in the dirt beside Jesus?  Don’t you think it’s time you were?

©2016 Debbie Robus