Jesus approaches the woman at the well and is able to tell her life story. It's not pretty.
The woman in John who is caught in the act of adultery and dragged into the temple to be stoned. Adulterer!
The woman who pushes through a crowd, unclean because of constant bleeding. The law says she is to remain in solitude until seven days after her bleeding stops. Anyone she touches becomes unclean too. She reaches out and touches Jesus.
The woman with the alabaster jar. In Luke it says that she was a sinner. In all of the Gospels it is implied that the people eating with Jesus at the very least saw her as ignorant for wasting such an expensive item when it could have been used for other "greater" things.
These women...these stories...they have one thing in common.
Each woman, for a passing moment of time, set themselves up in front of the Savior of the World to walk in...Condemnation.
The woman at the well is living in sin, as is the adulterous woman in John. The woman that is bleeding blatantly breaks the law. Everyone in the room considered the woman with the alabaster jar ignorant and a sinner.
These women deserved condemnation from Jesus. They were law-breakers. Sinners.
The people around them were there, ready to throw rocks at them. Rocks that scream CONDEMNATION! Rocks that break people.
We, like these women, deserve condemnation. We sin.
Sometimes our sins are hidden or they might be more "acceptable" sins.
Sometimes our sins are blatant. Out in the open for everyone to see.
Sometimes we are surrounded by people holding rocks. Ready to scream CONDEMNATION at us. To break us.
Sometimes we feel like Jesus is standing with them. He deserves to be doesn't He? He is the only one with no sin who can throw the first stone.
So many times in our lives this is where we rest. Where we walk. This is where we find our identity.
But if you finish reading each of these stories you will notice that though He is worthy of throwing that stone He doesn't.
My fellow Child of Christ, you might be walking today in condemnation. Thinking that you know the heart of God and that is what you deserve. And you will be correct. You do deserve that....the women from scripture did....we all do.
But Romans 8:1 speaks of a different heart "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
Jesus came to reconcile. To restore to favor. (Strong's Concordance) 2 Corinthians 5:18 says "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,"
Romans 5 tells us that God's heart for us was reconciliation even when we were His enemy! When we hated and despised Him, He planned for our rescue. He planned to draw us into Him. He planned to reconcile us to Himself!
So if you are walking today in condemnation, step out of it!! Walk in the reconciliation that is calling to you! Calling to you with the sweet voice of His Word.
Walk in Christ.
He, the only one worthy of throwing that stone, has dropped it.
Stop standing there waiting to be hit and broken.
You are restored and whole!!
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