God's Gracious Gift

Jesus was at the Mt. of Olives, teaching people at the temple courts. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman accused of adultery 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?" The response of Jesus to this self-righteous group made them turn on their heels. "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Upon hearing this and with no way to respond, the teachers and Pharisees began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:1-11)
Yes, this woman had sinned, but all her accusers wanted to do was punish her; they offered no forgiveness. But Jesus had a different agenda, one that the Pharisees were not ready to believe. Who was this man? A Prophet? The Messiah (as He claimed)? How could a Messiah come from Galilee they wondered? Wasn’t Galilee inhabited by Gentiles? Scripture foretold the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, not Galilee. If the Jews had taken any time to check out this self-professed Messiah, they would have learned he was born in Bethlehem and was from the lineage of David. When Nicodemus tried to intervene on behalf of Jesus, he asked them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” John 7:50-52. Sometimes people are just stubborn; too stubborn to see the truth.
Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. His love is redemptive, not accusatory. He came to make us whole, not tear us apart. Jesus is life, not death. He promises abundant life to all who believe in Him. The woman who had faced a certain and painful death by stoning had been set free. She was not only set free from her accusers, she was set free from the bondage of sin in her life. Do you see how each of our lives is like the life of this woman? Every one of us has sin in our lives. Scripture tells us in Romans 10:9 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We can’t help sinning; we were born with a sin nature. You do not have to teach a young child to disobey, it comes automatically to him. My little granddaughter Gwendolyn has been taught correct behavior, yet there are times that she balks and responds with a defiant, “No!” when asked to do something she doesn’t want to do. Her little face scrunches into a frown and she looks angry. Jon and Melissa did not teach her to say “no” or to be mad or to pout, but she does it anyway. Original sin began with Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden and is part of all of our lives. God provided a way for our sins to be covered by sending a perfect sacrifice to earth. He sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you. Even if you were the only person in need of a Savior, God loves you so much He still would have given Jesus, just for you. When Gwendolyn reaches the age of understanding, she will be offered the same gift Jesus offered the woman caught in adultery. This gift is the gift of salvation and eternal life through Him.
A gift is just that – a gift. It has to be received before it is a gift. If you refuse the gift, it will never belong to you. Becoming a Christian requires no good works on your behalf. Jesus wants you just as you are. You don’t have to quit any bad habits or change any behaviors to come to Christ. All you have to do is believe He is the Son of God and that He lived on this earth, was beaten and crucified on a cross, and that 3 days later he arose from the dead. When you pray, asking Jesus to forgive your sins (past, present and future) and to become Lord of your life, you are adopted into His family and become one of God’s children. We are all God’s creation, but none of us is a child of God until we are adopted. It’s really very easy, but sometimes we make the easiest of things difficult because we over-analyze. You have to come by faith in order to receive the gift Jesus has for you.
As Easter Season quickly approaches, I hope you will reflect on what Jesus did for you. If you have never accepted His free gift you can do that right now. He’s right where you are and He is waiting for you. He holds the gift in His hand. Won’t you accept it today?