Watch With ME

Seeking the perspective of Jesus

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept questioning him, he straightened up and said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8: 1-11 NIV

What do you think Jesus wrote in the dirt that day? Whatever it was, it was a slam dunk in the face of those who were trying to use the woman to get to Jesus. No one really knows what He wrote. There have been all kinds of speculations as to what the writing on the ground was. I have my own opinion. I think Jesus wrote on the ground the hidden sins of the accusers. I think they were the kind of private sins that no one else knew about except God. There is nothing like being a “holier than thou” accuser of someone else’s sin and then being reminded of your own offenses against God to bring one back to mercy to others or at least personal shame. I’ve been where those accusers were, and I speak from experience. We need to remember that the Lord will never hold sin against the truly repentant man or woman, being the God of grace that He is. However, if we do not connect His forgiveness of us with forgiveness to others, we can never stand against the Accuser when he tempts us to doubt our own forgiveness from God.

Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." Oh, how thankful I am for our Lord of redemption and restoration, for He gives me permission to leave my mistakes behind and pursue a new life without the guilt and shame I would carry without His forgiveness. It is classic Jesus to forgive and restore the dignity of a broken and contrite person. Jesus not only forgives, but He starts us on a new life path if we will allow Him. Why do we need to give Him our permission to embrace a new, forgiven, and transformed life? Well, there are several factors battling against us, and we must make a courageous stand to allow transformation. First, the Accuser wants us to stay in a debilitated, broken condition. He doesn’t want us to have a new start, for our witness would be too persuasive to others in having one. Second, we face the human accusers. Some of these accusers have never found the grace they so desperately need, and they cannot comprehend a transformed life. Then, there are those who have been redeemed but haven’t connected their own desperate need for God’s forgiveness with how it should change their view of others who have fallen into sin. These people try to feel better about their own shame by looking down on others, but in doing so, they accuse themselves, and the Accuser laughs. The third is the unforgiveness we have toward ourselves. We can accept God’s forgiveness, but we often will not accept His restoration because we feel that we are obligated to live with our shame. As a result, we try to run and hide, thinking a hidden life will be the only way to get away from our accusers. But it doesn’t happen, for shame will follow us wherever we go because we carry it with us. There is only one way to find the new life we seek: to accept the new life born from repentance that our King makes for us. His forgiveness and restoration give us the privilege to live out our forgiveness before our accusers. In doing so, we will have our dignity restored while providing a powerful witness of God’s complete love.

I am reminded of a story about two men who were caught stealing sheep many years ago. Since they lived in “sheep country”, this was a serious crime with serious repercussions. When they were caught, they were immediately branded with the letters “ST” on their foreheads. By doing this, the people in all the sheep-producing

communities would be forewarned by the brand that they were looking at sheep thieves. The people were encouraged never to forgive nor trust these men. After the two men were branded, they were then given a hasty trial and several years of imprisonment. While in prison, both men were introduced to Jesus through the prison chaplain. This kind old man taught the men about God’s forgiveness of their sins through Jesus and, as well, their value to Him. This was something that both men needed to hear in order to complete their restoration. Unfortunately, only one of the men took it to heart.

When the two men were released from prison, one man left the country and wanted to get as far away from sheep and sheepherders as possible. Even though Christ had redeemed him, he could not accept God’s restoration. He reasoned that it would be his responsibility to make a new name for himself, and he had to get away from his accusers to do so. He followed that line of thinking for the rest of his life and never escaped the condemnation that the mark on his forehead proclaimed. People knew what it meant no matter where he traveled, and the shame followed him. He died penniless, friendless, and isolated for his remaining life.

The other man accepted God’s restoration of his dignity along with God’s forgiveness. As a result, he decided to go back to his homeland and face his accusers. He faced them, not with words but with deeds born from thankfulness. He lived his remaining life as a man who knew that he had been redeemed and trusted that it was up to God to restore his reputation. Even if his reputation was never restored, he accepted what he knew in his heart was the truth. As far as God and he was concerned, he was transformed, and the old man no longer lived. With this conviction, the man faced the ridicule and insults that he expected would come. However, he never returned insult for insult but rather returned a blessing to all who accused him. Before long, his accusers grew tired of their games and looked for other scapegoats to insult. In addition, the reputation of the old sheep thief was developing as people began to understand that there was no more faithful worker nor more honest man to deal with than him. As the years passed by, the man became a successful businessman, and his business gained a reputation for honesty and fairness. There was no better merchant in the town than this old sheep thief’s store.

When the old man died, family, friends, dignitaries, and leaders across the nation attended his funeral. There were so many people at the church where the funeral was being held that many people had to remain outside the church to observe the funeral from a distance. Two of those attendees were young men standing on the edge of the grounds. As these young men discussed the life and reputation of the old man, one was overheard asking, “Do you know what that brand on the old man’s forehead meant? It’s an ST. Do you remember seeing it?” The other young man answered, “Oh, I’ve asked a lot of people about that. I’ve gotten the same answer from just about everyone, especially those who knew him personally. Some of the people knew him as a young man and even knew about some mistakes he had made. Some of the people I talked to knew him as a businessman, a church leader, and one of the most influential people in the country. All of them said the same thing about him.” The other young man asked eagerly, “Well, what did they say? What did that ST on the old man’s forehead

mean?” The other man replied, “They all said the same thing. It means, ‘Saint.’”

Whether you are like the old sheep thief in the story or any other broken and contrite believer who has repented of some terrible mistake, now take the restoration your Father in heaven offers you. Face your accusers with love-not shame, grace-not anger, courage-and not fear. Be patient, let God rebuild your reputation, and live out your thankfulness before mankind. Give to God what you have the power to give to Him, and let Him give to you that which He has the power to give back to you. You can trust Him. If you will take this path from your repentance, your reputation will also turn from Sheep Thief to Saint.