Stones not thrown

So lately...

I've been thinking about rejection.

The dictionary defines the word "rejection" in this way: refusing to accept; to put aside; to discard.

People experience rejection in different ways. Perhaps someone whom you trusted would always be there walked out of your life. Perhaps you've reached out to someone for help, and they turned their face from you. Perhaps you simply tried to be yourself in front of others, and they made fun of you or criticized you for that.

I've experienced all of that.

But I think the worst kind of rejection is rejection by the church.

People who claim to be Christians should not be condemning others...{whether they are also Christians or not}...who may be struggling with a certain sin, or maybe have struggled with a sin in their past. How quickly we forget that we are all sinners too, and sin is sin, no matter how "big" or "small" it may be.

Can we all take a moment and remember the woman in John chapter 8?

She was caught committing adultery {or in today's terms...sleeping around}. And according to Old Testament law, that was grounds for a brutal stoning. 

So ashamed she must have felt...and I've experienced shame before too. As have many of YOU.

But guess what?! In the presence of Christ there is no need to feel shame! And he proved it with his next move.

When all of the teachers of the law {aka, the men in authority who supposedly knew everything} asked him if they should stone her, what did he do???.......................

"Let the one who has no sin throw the first stone."

Oh, but wait! That's not even the best part! What did he say to her after they all put down their stones and walked away?? 

"I do not judge you guilty. Go, and sin no more."

Whoa! WHOA! Now hold on a second!

WHAAAAATTT was that?

Okay I'm gonna stop being silly for a second ;))

Our God is a God of second chances. He is a God of forgiveness. 

And I know that I personally want to be more and more like that every single day. 

If I am given opportunity to forgive someone, I will forgive without question, because that is giving THEM the opportunity to right their wrongs.

And if someone lives their life differently than I do...makes different decisions, or has a different point of view from mine...it's not my job to change them. Do I always agree with what people do? Definitely not...but that doesn't mean I turn from them and decide they are unworthy of love. They were also created in the image of God, just like me. God loves them. Shouldn't I?

THIS IS HOW OUR GOD LOVES!

"We have all sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God..."

Just the tiny word ALL seems to be overlooked sometimes. 

Can we remember...instead of choosing anger and hatred towards those who are different from us...that we have our own stuff to deal with too? And remember how we would feel if someone else held that against US?