first to throw a stone at her.” One by
one, beginning with the older ones, her
accusers begin to turn away. And then
comes the moment of beautiful grace
we’re all familiar with. Jesus turns to her
and says, “Woman, where are they? Has
no one condemned you?” She responds,
“No one, sir.” And He says, “Then neither
do I condemn you.”
and in the lives of others, and He has
much better things in store.
Do you see this? This call is an invitation
t o m o re , a n d i t ’s b re a t h t a k i n g l y
BEAUTIFUL.
You see, Jesus loves us where we are
but he never leaves us where we are.
He calls us into life.
What an amazing embodiment of love
and grace and beauty all wrapped up
into this potent moment. The God of
eternity reached down into the dust of
our existence and transformed it with a
single touch.
But if Jesus had the attitude of most
churches today, that’s where the story
would end. Thankfully, it doesn’t. His
love for us extends well beyond that.
As beautiful as the words “then neither
do I condemn you” are, His next words
are equally charged with grace, love,
and truth.
He tells her, “Go now and leave your life
of sin.”
Why? Because He knows she’s been
looking for life in places she can’t find
it. Because He knows she’s been trying
to drink from cracked, dry cisterns that
can’t touch her thirst for more. Because
He sees the broken ways of living she’s
embraced and is inviting her to leave
them behind. Because His desire for
her is that she run fully in the identity
He created her for, and He knows she’s
been living far below it. He sees the
pain her choices have caused in her life
34 • Solutions
My question is, as a church, are we
doing the same?
When I look at the body of Christ at
large, we are eerily silent on so many
things that are wreaking havoc in
people’s lives—things like same-sex
attraction, hypocrisy, gossip, self-
identification, slander, moral relativism,
gender confusion, greed, abortion,
pornography, and more. Is this what
truly loving people equates to—silence?
Would we rather risk leaving someone
in bondage and shame than saying
something in love that may temporarily
offend or discomfort them? Have we
confused loving people unconditionally
with blindly approving of their actions?
Do we believe God’s Word still speaks
to these things? It is not God’s Word that
is silent on the controversial topics of
our day—it’s us. And the hard truth is