Saturday, March 7, 2009

Taken In The Act


What Love Did
It was time to execute her:
She stood on the gallows of shame
Attached to the noose of guilt
And covered with the hood of sin;

They chanted
Saying she’s better off dead
Saying nothing good can come out of her
Saying her sin is the worst of all;

Then one of the spectators asked
Would you spare her life just once?
Can I take whatever is left of her?
Sure you can, they mocked
Remember she’s better off dead
Because nothing good can come out of her;

But he showed her love
Love turned her life around
Today she is so fruitful
That only good comes out of her.


The Inspiration
This post is in reference to the story of the woman taken in adultery and was to be stoned to death [1]. You may have been belittled, judged or condemned by the world or yourself. You may have taken paths you should not have, or made mistakes you wish you did not make. Your life today is hope that you can make a difference, probably based on your experience. What then can we learn from the story of the adulterous woman?

1. No one is without sin: - Her prosecutors seemed to have a great zeal against her sin, when it appeared afterwards that they themselves were not free from sin. It is not unusual for those that tolerate their own sin to be intolerant of the sins of others.

2. When your sin is brought to light, it is for your own good: - She was taken in the act, leaving no room to plead not guilty. It is better for your sin to shame you than damn you, and be set in order before you to arouse your repentance.

3. When you bring your cause before God, you will never have reason to take the matter elsewhere, for He is the refuge of those who are repentant.

4. It is human to have doubts about your fate, even when you come before God: - But like the adulterous woman, as you stand before Him, you will experience His infinite grace, love and mercy.

5. You will need to forgive your accusers: - She was silent concerning her prosecutors when asked “where are they that condemn you?" She did not triumph because they had left or insult them knowing they were not perfect after all.
In addition, let us not throw stones or execute others because we feel they are worse sinners than ourselves. Rather let us show them love and forgiveness. Such has more power to cause change.

6. Reformation comes after forgiveness: - For Christ to tell her, "I do not condemn you is", in effect to say, "I do forgive you". Then he tells her she should go and sin no more.
It will be futile if you try to clean up your life in order to avoid God’s condemnation. It should be the other way around. God doesn’t say, “Leave your life of sin, and then I will no longer condemn you.”[2] He implies, “I do not condemn you; now leave behind your life of sin to enable you see that you are a different person.”


Thank you Heavenly Father because you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins when we confess. When you forgive us, you completely forget what we did and remember our sins no more. Thank you for your mercy and your love that is a story-changer. May we not take your love, grace and mercy for granted. In Jesus Name, Amen.


References
[1] The bible: John 8:1-11
[2] Jesus and the Adulterous Woman
[3] Matthew Henry Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible: John Chapter 8

29 comments:

Writefreak said...

As i read the poem, i thought it reminded me of the aduleterous woman in the bible....it's a great lesson of hope , redemption, grace and forgiveness.
Great post again Rita!

aloted said...

this post is too on point...totally feeling it. thanks

Roc said...

The great thing is this post encompasses a whole range of issues and not just adultery..
"Trust in Him 'cos he holds all the aces"

deola said...

It is really hard to forgive! Hmmm. really

seye said...

Thank God for Jesus. The personification of love, the example of forgiveness!

Rita said...

@Writefreak: - Wow! I didn’t see all these facets of the lessons to learn from the adulterous woman…thank you.

@Aloted: - You’re welcome…

@RocNaija: - Hmmm…glad you could see more than the issue of adultery…

@Deola: - Yeah it’s really hard to forgive but it open doors for us to be forgiven…so we need the grace of God…

@Seye: - Yes oh…He is the personification of love…

Unknown said...

I remember when I had to sing this to myself everyday.....Thank God for God I tell you.

Kafo said...

hmmm
on point

David C Brown said...

We can be righteous before God because Jesus took the blame for us. Amazing grace!

Hadassah said...

True this post reminds me of the adulterous woman. But also reminds me of my battles of trying to forgive and forget just God does for me. Thanks for stopping by my blog Rita!

Original Mgbeke said...

Good post, good lesson.:-)

Joy Akut said...

i love what you said, 'It is better for your sin to shame you than damn you'

sometimes the people who shout the loudest in judging others are those guilty of the same act in within themselves.

Smaragd said...

this is beautiful! it reads just like my daily devotional, which i like very much.

thank u Ritz!

Anonymous said...

You have done it again. This is soooo comforting. Please keep it coming.

Buttercup said...

if only I cud be like Jesus for just one day..

Enkay said...

Sometimes I wonder...What if Jesus never forgave us our sins?

I'm glad He did and still does. That thought alone gives me courage to make the first move in forgiving those who hurt me. It ain't easy though!

Thanks again!

Yankeenaijababe said...

I loved this post and am feeling your inspiration. Thanks.

Chiamaka said...

When i read the poem, my mind was on Mary Magdalene. it would be good if we would alwyas have people to save us from being crucified, it would even be better, if we were always there to save people from being crucified. great post

Geebee said...

Great inspiration for the day. Thank God for this message. May God grant us the grace to always come before him to ask for his mercies because more than anything else, we need it.

David C Brown said...

When the Lord Jesus finished with the woman in John 8 He said, "Go and sin no more"; with the woman in Luke 7 He says, "Go in peace". The second is a lot more positive - because that woman had shown her trust in Him. The more we trust Him the more He can trust us. And, Buttercup, that's how we will become like Him!

Rita said...

@Sirius: Yeah, what God has done for us is awesome…

@Kafo: Thank you

@ David C: Yes, the key thing is realizing that Jesus has already taken the blame for us.

@ Hadassah: Thank you. I guess forgiving and forgetting is one area we all are working on…

@ Original Mgbeke: Thank you

@ Fantasy Queen: So true, that those guilty of something would make the most noise when it comes to someone else…

@ Smaragd: You’re welcome…

@ Temite: You always warm my heart with your comment…thank you so much…

@ Buttercup: Whenever God looks at you, He sees Jesus because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

@ Enkay: I cant imagine if Jesus did not wash away our sins..hey! Where will I be today? I too am so glad he did…

Rita said...

@ Yankeenaijababe: Thank you so much…

@ Have you any wool: I soo like the part where you said “it would even be better, if we were always there to save people from being crucified…” I think that is part of our calling…thank you.

@ Geebee: Amen and thank you. What would we do without his mercy?

@ David C Brown: Thank you for this enlightenment. Your comments are always so full of wisdom from God.

Kémi Penélopê said...

We stand in the gallow of shame but God still loves us enough to still want to die for us everytime we sin.

I don't know what it is about you that I feel so connected to you when I read your post.

This is so inspirational.

Unknown said...

beautiful
simply beautiful

Giagerry said...

great talk...
Its really good to understand Gods love for us, cuz wen u get deeper in this understanding it kind of turns ur life around. Lately in my devotional its all been about Gods love, atfirst i thot it was tiring but still everyday i read i discovered something new.
He is just plain awesome especially wen u think of this love, forgiveness, grace and most of all the peace he give...its passes all understandin!
Thnx rita..good stuff

.. said...

Yet another lesson filled inspiring post.
This really opens our eyes to the need to forgive,though given human nature,it's not the easiest thing to do.
But for God to forgive us millions of times,we should try our best to to forgive our neighbours when they wrong us..

olusimeon said...

true words...thanks for sharing this.

chichi said...

LOVE THIS!

my favorite word sums up my Lord : 'GRACE'.

Rita said...

@Kémi Penélopê: Thank you…if you feel a connection then there must be a connection because I feel same when I read your post…

@Olamild: Thank you

@Gee: I like the way you hit the nail on the head that “the understanding turns our lives around…” Thank you

@Rose: Dearest, we can only keep trying to forgive…He will see us through

@Simeone: You’re welcome

@Chichi: Yes, GRACE is what it’s all about...Thanks for "loving" the post.