Sound of Stones Dropping

The whole incident was a set up.  She had been caught, no trapped, in the very act of adultery.  In bringing only her to Jesus, the Jewish leaders were breaking the law.  Where was the man she had been caught with?  He should be stoned too.  Perhaps it had been one of them.  How else would they have known the exact time and place of the act?  

Each of the accusers carried a stone in his hand.  They were ready for the punishment to be meted out.  

Jesus didn’t believe in adultery.  They were counting on that.  Wonder what they thought when he stooped down and used His finger to write something in the dirt.  What did He write?  The name of the guilty man?  A list of the accuser’s sins?  

 

They badgered Him until He stood up and agreed, “Ok, go ahead and stone her.  But to qualify to throw that stone, you must be sinless.”  Then He bent down and began to write some more. 

“Thud.”

“Thud, thud.”  

In the silence, all that could be heard was the sound of stones dropping to the ground.  One by one, the accusers began to slip away.  

Do you have a stone in your hand?  Have you caught someone in the act of doing something you consider wrong?  Are you ready to mete out the punishment?  

Are you sinless?  Am I?  I think not.   

Before we throw that stone, we need to take a review of our own lives.  The next sound we hear will be the stone falling from our hands to the ground.  

“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.  They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  Now what do you say?”  John 8:3-5 (NIV)

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Automatic Door

As I walked toward the doors of the grocery store, a lady stepped in front of me and headed the same way.  I watched as she strode past three double doors that said “pull” and went to the one that was automatic.  I was puzzled.  Lazy?  Bad arms?  I pulled on the first door and entered.  We arrived at the grocery carts about the same time, so I intersected with her several times throughout the store.  She reached across items, reached high on shelves; she didn’t seem to have arm problems.  

I pondered.  Recently, I had done some research on the church culture today.  I saw a parallel.  

It takes effort to pull on a door and open it.  There is no effort involved in walking through an automatic door.  More and more churches offer the automatic door.  It seems folks just want to sit in a building on Sunday morning, be told how good they are doing; and to have a wonderful week.  

No effort involved.  

But there are still a few churches that think living as Christ taught takes some time and effort on our part; that we need to use our spiritual muscles to stay healthy. On Sunday morning they offer guidance from the Bible to help us.  I recently heard a very well-known preacher say, “It is very hard to go to hell.  God is love.  Just be a good person.  Heaven awaits.”  He’s preaching an automatic door religion.  

 Which door do you choose?  

“Don’t look for shortcuts to God.  The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time.  Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do.  The way to life – to God – is vigorous and requires total attention.”  Matthew 7:13-14 (MSG)

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