One of the ten commandments that God gave Moses was not to commit adultery. Doing so would be a sin against God. The Jewish law was to stone to death those caught in adultery.
One day religionists brought a woman that was caught in adultery to Jesus. They wanted to see if Jesus would uphold the Jewish law and condemn this woman to death.
This was Jesus' response, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her [the woman caught in adultery]." — John 8:7
It is easy for us to identify the sins of others and focus on those sins instead of the fact that we all are sinners and each of us falls short. Please know that God wants to deliver us from the sin of being critical and judgmental.
Thank God for his grace and his mercy. Jesus walked this earth revealing his grace and mercy to us, and his willingness to love us and not condemn us. Instead of condemning this woman brought to him, Jesus turns the focus from the woman to remind us how important it is for us to evaluate our own condition, taking an honest inventory of our own sinfulness. We all fall short but praise God that his grace and mercy flow freely as we identify our own shortcomings and fall at the feet of Jesus in humility, receiving the grace and mercy he freely gives.
Jesus expects us to leave our life of sin as we experience his grace and mercy. We then can lead others to the source of the grace and mercy that we have experienced.
Beloved, walk in the grace and mercy you have received, revealing the forgiveness of God to those around you. Refuse to condemn. Refuse to judge others. Focus on Jesus and what he has done for you. Love others as Jesus loves you.
Know that you are loved,
