John 8:2-11 (esv) - "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.”
i have always loved this passage (as has every other person who has ever read it) but until recently, i had never thought of it in light of the culture we live in today.
as we all know the two hot-button issues of our time in america are abortion and gay marriage. i've heard argument after argument about why these two "issues" should either be allowed or banned according to the law of the land. it's gotten old quick.
however, i've found (in my own life) a solid reason to choose the way of Christ over the power of legislation...
aren't we all guilty of breaking at least one of the laws of our land, never mind God's law?!
have not all of us at one time or another gone over the speed limit?
have not all of us at one time or another lied?
have not all of us been angry with our brother or sister at one time or another (matthew 5:22)? have not all of us called someone else a fool?
have not most of us lusted after another woman or man despite our commitment to another to be faithful until death do us part?
have not all of us sought revenge?
we are all guilty of breaking the law, yet we continue to place other people's flaws and mistakes above our own. it's easy to legislate morality when you don't struggle with the moral issue being debated.
many times, when we legislate against girls who are considering abortion or gay people who are seeking to marry, we lose any chance at loving them the way Christ would have us love, and showing them mercy the way Christ would have us show mercy. we have become the accusers (like the scribes and pharisees who thought they were obeying the Law of Moses) rather than the liberators. the judge and jury rather than the defendant. i think it's time we got back to the cause of Christ, rather than the cause of the Law.
since we have been freed from condemnation because of God's love, how much more should we be showing that kind of kingdom mercy and grace to all those dirty lawbreakers in our own time and place?
we don't have stones anymore. they've been replaced with votes.
let him/her who is without sin among you cast the first vote.
-dave-
6 opinion(s):
Thanks.
I'm with you 99% of the way on this. I'm not a particularly political person. I see mercy and grace to be our mandate. My only difference might be with the unborn - - I agree we have to extend mercy to the pregnant woman who is going through the most difficult decision she'll ever make.
However - I also believe that we need to extend mercy to the unborn. And in their current, helpless physical state - the only mercy we can really extend to them is that of saving their life.
With all lost and hurting, that's always the first step: Save their life and then deal with the other issues. How do I save this life apart from legislation? Because I'm not into "Christian Politics" and the misguided "Christian America" belief - but I do believe that young baby is a human life.
Any thoughts?
good stuff my friend. i'm totally there with what you're saying. i think i am more of the mind that often when we legislate against these girls, we often lose both the unborn child and the mother. there has to be a better way of going about the business of saving lives.
Great post, my fellow K-Pax lover.
Awesome post.
The issue that burns me the most when it comes to abortion are all the people who rail against it and are determined to push the issue of murder and how we need to be adamant in our actions because the baby has no one to stand up for it. The issue I have with that is that "most" of those same people don't do anything about the issue beyond yapping their flap. When's the last time you volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center? How much do you give monetarily to places that offer pregnancy testing and counseling? Do you really think picketing and/or voting are effective and do more good than giving of yourself for the cause?
For what it's worth, I'll share my committment... I am a board member and officer for a local crisis pregnancy center who may be forced to close their doors soon (after 35 years) due to lack of involved persons and funding. This is the kind of place that is actually changing minds and hearts for good, but we can't get anyone to volunteer or donate to the cause. But we sure do see people voting a certain way and complaining whenever they can. I'll stop before I use the word hypocrite, but it's crossed my mind. If you actually care, what are you deliberately doing about it?
(Sorry for the rant.)
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