Hugging A Porcupine

"The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So, what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.  And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." - John 8:3-11

I have been thinking about the terrible and dark place the world has become. Sin is running rampant. People are calling evil good and good evil. If you challenge the "new" good as evil, you, yourself, are labeled as evil. So, what to do. Then I thought about Jesus. Jesus confronted sinners with love. He called sin - sin, evil - evil, but He never left it there. He always pointed the sinners to the Father - called them to repentance. 

Quite often we use the threat of punishment as the motivation for repentance. "Turn or burn" But Jesus promised love and grace and mercy when the sinner repented. So often we want to throw the baby out with the bath water. We find it difficult to separate the sinner from the sin. I have written about the connection between forgiveness and repentance in the past.  That was in terms of restored relationship. What Jesus did was confront the sin and encourage repentance. In the case of the woman in John 8, He understood her sin nature and her need for salvation. She could not be saved from her sin without faith.

I often say "It is hard to hug a porcupine." And so it is with sinners. We see their "spines" and want to keep our distance lest we get "stuck". 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." - John 3:16-18

God, the Father, loved the world full of sinners - not their sin and wanted to restore them to Himself through Jesus' sacrifice. Our love for God compels us to love others. Not to embrace their sin but call them to repentance because we love them.

When you share Christ with someone it is for their benefit, not yours. You should not want them to become a Christian so you don't have to be around a sinner and their sin. Your motivation should be your love for them and desire that they should have eternal life and be restored to God the Father through faith in Jesus the Son. 

"We love because he [God] first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." - 1 John 4:19-20

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone