Jesus and two women day 2

 He could have taken a stand. He could have told the Samaritan woman exactly what was wrong with her, how she’d taken her life and thrown it away and how badly she had been misguided in her approach to God. He could have told that woman caught in the act of adultery just how wicked and sinful she was. He could have been the one to cast the first stone, but He didn’t. 

After all, Jesus was better than good, He was the best. He was sinless. He was perfect in thought, in word and in deed. He never told a lie. He never stole. He never gossiped. He never said or did things just to impress or make others feel inferior. He never manipulated or used people. He never harboured a grudge or had a lustful thought. He always did the right thing in the right way at the right time for the right reason. He was the most righteous human being of all time. 

Yet (and this is huge) He had not one whiff of self-righteousness about Him. Rather, He was the most approachable person imaginable. Those who were despised and regarded as riff-raff seemed to enjoy His company, and when they were in His presence they found a level of acceptance and grace they had never experienced before. Maybe that’s the cause and effect right there. 

See, Jesus could have come to earth to take a stand. You know — the kind of stand lots of Christians think they are obliged to take in the world. He could have taken a stand against immoral people. He could have taken a stand against impure people. Being the only perfect person around, He could have thrown lots of stones. 

But He didn’t.

He accepted them with a completely undeserved acceptance. Rather than taking a stand or casting stones, Jesus chose to build a bridge from this sin-sick planet to our heavenly Father. And He did that because He knew something that we seem to have forgotten. Sometimes grace and acceptance can accomplish what judgment and condemnation never can. 

He knew that offering people the kind of dignity they deserve and desire is often the key to real life-change. By refusing to condemn the adulterous woman and the divorced woman, Jesus opened up the opportunity to really speak into their lives, to reach into their hearts and begin the amazing transformational process He came to initiate. His acceptance inspired the kind of change from within that we long to see in ourselves. 

 

Prayer 

 

Father, You have granted me the glorious gift of acceptance and welcome in Christ. Without Him, I was justly condemned and separated from Your holy presence. But through the powerful work of the Saviour, You rescued me from the domain of darkness and transferred me to the Kingdom of your beloved Son. In spite of my guilt and sin, You reached out to me and lifted me out of the abyss. In my desperate need, You gave me the grace to acknowledge my condition and respond to Your loving call. You have declared me righteous in Christ and have reconciled me to You so that now I enjoy peace with You instead of estrangement and alienation. In light of Your great mercies, I want to present all I know of myself to all I know of You. Because of who You are and what You have done, I can trust You implicitly and place all my hope in You.

In Jesus’s name, Amen