JOHN 8:7c
“Let the one among you who has never sinned throw the first stone at her.”

You know the story, the story of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus looks at the people gathered around her ready to stone her, and before He speaks, He bends down and writes in the dust of the earth with His finger. Scripture does not record what He writes, but when He stands up, He speaks the words noted above to the woman’s accusers. Slowly, all of those holding stones drop away. Like the woman’s accusers, we are quick to judge and condemn. We are quick to pick up stones. But at least one of the messages in this story reminds us that unless we are perfectly innocent, we ought not pick up stones. My mom used to say, when you point one finger at someone else, three others point back at you. May we seek to leave judgement to God and draw in grace to fill its place. (PS, Jesus did tell her to go and sin no more, that seems to me like God’s amazing grace.)