Ensign: Meant To Be

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.            Isaiah 18:3

 

AN ENSIGN ON THE MOUNTAINS                                                    8 April 2016

 

"When Jesus had lift up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers?  hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (John 8:10-11)

At the beginning of the eighth chapter of John, we find Jesus teaching again in the temple. According to verse 3, the scribes and Pharisees burst in with a woman they've caught committing adultery -- "in the very act" according to verse 4. Now, setting aside what efforts the scribes and Pharisees must have gone to so they could catch her in the act, they don't bring her to Jesus to seek His decision regarding her punishment -- they seek Him to confirm the decision they've already made. They even back up their decision in verse 5 with the law of Moses, commanding that an adulterer should be stoned. Now they wanted Jesus' response.

 

He stooped down and wrote on the ground "as though he heard them not". The scribes and Pharisees unwittingly become part of what Jesus is teaching. They continued asking Him what to do, and Jesus offered in verse 7, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." And he continued writing. "Convincted by their own conscience," everyone except Jesus and the woman left.  Almost as an afterthought, Jesus looked to the woman and asked where her condemners were. When she replied that they have gone, Jesus responds in verse 11, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."

 

I could write an exposition on this, but to be brief, we have no more right to condemn others than the scribes and Pharisees do. Does this mean we should have no values? Of course not, but when we allow what we've done before to shape our actions, we become unwilling to grow and unwilling to change. When Jesus said, "Go, and sin no more," that wasn't the condition for His not condemning the adulterer; that was meant to be the end result of her not being condemned.

That is meant to be for all of us sinners, too. She was, and we are, given the choice to grow from that moment in time when we accept Jesus' forgiveness. We are given choices every day, and we need to recognize them for what they are -- offers of a renewed fellowship with Jesus, the Son of God, and God Himself. Put simply, that fellowship is "meant to be" for all of us.

 

Sincerely yours,

David       

 

P.S.  I write this weekly devotional to keep in touch with all of you in my address book, and I hope to be an encouragement too! If you find that I'm not or you want me to get lost, just let me know -- thank you!

Thank You, Lord, that we can come to You in prayer and that we can count on You to provide for all our needs, even when we don't know what they are. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem on both sides of the fence and all over the world.

Thank You, Lord, for everyone in leadership and service, both here and abroad. Thank You for the opportunities we have and the promise of new life through You. And I pray that we all seek and have a blessed week! Amen.