What did God say to you this week while reading John 6-10?
I think God is using the story of the woman caught in adultery (Jn 7:53-8:11) to speak to me this week. It’s interesting as I sit down to write, as I have always looked at this story as an example of the mercy and grace of God, and that Christ’s comments regarding the self-righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees were equally important, but also secondary to the main idea. But now, after chewing on this passage for a few days, I’m starting to believe that is not necessarily the case. While mercy and grace are still clearly on display in this passage, I think it’s clear that guarding against self-righteousness is the main idea here.
I have a relatable situation at work, where I fear I may have become like the scribes and Pharisees in this passage. Without boring you with the technical jargon of what I do for a living, let’s say that I have found myself more and more getting upset with some of my co-workers. The reasons I get upset can vary but mostly come down to either my co-workers not fully understanding what it is that I do, which results in them making requests that I cannot fulfill or they don’t follow processes the way I feel they should.
So the problem with all this is that I often find myself throwing stones. I also make mistakes and often do similar things. When I do, I expect mercy and grace from others. Still, when the shoe is on the other foot, I don’t have a very good track record of extending the same compassion and forgiveness that Christ did for the adulterous woman, the same mercy and grace he extended for me.
The worst part of all this is the example I’m setting for others around me, not to mention what it does to me inwardly. Often the same people I “vent” these frustrations to are the same people that are in my immediate vicinity. People who don’t know Jesus. The same people to whom my words and actions should be a powerful witness to Christ in my life. They all know that I am a Christian, but how does this attitude show them that I am different than the rest of the world? How does my self-righteousness, my lack of mercy and grace, help me point them to Christ?
How are you to apply what God has said to you?
I think the most important step for me to take towards applying what God is saying to me through this passage is to take it to prayer and lay it at the foot of the cross. What better way to change my heart than to ask the one who created it. But that’s not to say there won’t be work on my part as well. I need to be on the lookout for these situations that trigger this attitude and guard against them. I’m not quite sure what that looks like yet, but perhaps a simple note on my desk that says “Don’t Throw Stones” is a good place to start.