After I posted my blog yesterday I was torn over if it was a good idea or not. On the one hand I feel like public knowledge of such a situation can not only be useful but influential. On the other hand after all that has happened there really is not much good that can come from posting that. I do however do not want the point of the post to be lost in all this. My Mom called me last night and was none to happy with my post. My Mom is a sweet mild tempered lady that I rarely ever see lose her cool. She strongly believes that you should never put your fingers to a keyboard in anger. I would like to share with you the message she sent in the email to me:
John 8:1 - 11 scribes and Pharisees had caught a woman in the act of adultery (the woman commonly referred to as the prostitute) and told Jesus who was teaching in the temple that the Mosaic Law required she be stoned to death. Trying to make an opportunity of this to trick Jesus that they might accuse Him, they, with stones in hand, asked Jesus what He says about the Law. After Jesus tried to ignore their repeated questioning, He told them "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." One by one each man dropped his stone and walked away.
Jesus was not arguing with the judgment. Nor was Jesus arguing the law nor the woman's guilt. Jesus was arguing with our right to execute the woman. Once all the men had dropped their stones Jesus confronted the woman and asked her if any of the men were still there to condemn her. When she answered "No man, Lord", Jesus told her that neither did He - He forgave her of her sin. He did not excuse the sin of adultery/prostitution, he forgave her of it. All behavior and thought that is sinful before forgiveness is still sinful after forgiveness. Not only was Jesus not afraid to call a sin a sin, He was not afraid to call a sinner a sinner. He even reminded her of the sin of adultery/prostitution by telling her "Go and sin no more." (in other words: he told her what he thought and then he let it go)
Jesus was not arguing with the judgment. Nor was Jesus arguing the law nor the woman's guilt. Jesus was arguing with our right to execute the woman. Once all the men had dropped their stones Jesus confronted the woman and asked her if any of the men were still there to condemn her. When she answered "No man, Lord", Jesus told her that neither did He - He forgave her of her sin. He did not excuse the sin of adultery/prostitution, he forgave her of it. All behavior and thought that is sinful before forgiveness is still sinful after forgiveness. Not only was Jesus not afraid to call a sin a sin, He was not afraid to call a sinner a sinner. He even reminded her of the sin of adultery/prostitution by telling her "Go and sin no more." (in other words: he told her what he thought and then he let it go)
I was raised Catholic, but will be the first one to admit that I have not kept up with my faith. This message really spoke to me and ultimately caused me to take down my message. While I am still angry about what happened, I certainly do not act without fault myself. Not to be lost in all this is still the ultimate point: take responsibility for your actions. I still strongly believe that relationships are gained or destroyed based on this point. With all my blog posts I attempt to reflect on my issues and hopefully help someone out there that may be experiencing something similar. The line that resonates with me the most from this entire passage is: "All behavior and thought that is sinful before forgiveness is still sinful after forgiveness."
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