A line in the Sand

John 8:2-12

"Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do you say?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear."

Jesus was in the middle of teaching, doing what He does. He is the greatest teacher who ever lived. They interrupted His teaching with a "teaching moment." This often happens in our lives. The ultimate teacher uses circumstances as teaching moments. We don't know for sure what he wrote on the ground, it has been suggested that it was the ten commandments;  whatever it was, it served as a "line in the sand." 

"So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last."

Those scribes and Pharisees brought that woman to Jesus thinking they were going to teach her a lesson or to test Jesus. What they got was a lesson of their own. He drew a "line in the sand" showing them their own sin. They left "being convicted by their own conscience." Not condemned but convicted. He showed them that they had all sinned, they had all fallen short. None of us is perfect.

"And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

I can only imagine how that woman felt. Terrified of being stoned to death? Ashamed of her behavior? Obviously she knew it was wrong. Jesus was merciful. He saved her and said go and sin no more. He did not condemn her for her sin, neither did He condone it. We can get caught up in sinful attitudes, behaviors, or even sinful circumstances and end up living outside the will of God. Others may point it out to us. We may miss opportunities or just feel spiritually sick because of it. God may even remove His protection and provision if we continue to live outside of His will. As we draw closer to Him and spend more time in His Word and in prayer we will come to hate our sin. Jesus will draw a "line in the sand" on our hearts. 

I have often heard that saying in reference to something that will not be tolerated. Yes, we are forgiven. Yes, His grace is enough to cover all of our sins. That does not mean that God will tolerate us hanging on to our sinful ways. If we truly want to be in His will for our lives we must repent and turn from our sin. We must go and sin no more. The awesome thing about Jesus is that He promises to help us. He has already overcome sin so if we rely on Him; He will make a way out of that sinful attitude, behavior, or circumstance. 

Recently God drew a "line in the sand" on my heart and boy is He teaching me. When my fiance proposed to me last October he wanted to go ahead and get married ASAP. We were living together. I said no way, not yet. Don't get me wrong; I love my fiance like crazy. The only person I love more than him is Jesus but, after 2 divorces, marriage had been a bad word as far as I was concerned for several years. I had said yes to the proposal but figured we could wait a year or so. While I knew it was God's will for us to marry, I wasn't ready yet. Then Jesus drew that "line in the sand." A couple months later I became convicted that we couldn't continue to live together unmarried. So I asked my fiance to go ahead and marry me in a few weeks. He said no. Attacks from the enemy had come on every front, my health, my finances, my family, a missed ministry opportunity, and worst of all my relationship with my fiance. I was miserable and sunk into a deep depression. I thought if we just went ahead and got married it would get better. Then others pointed out our sinful situation. We had chosen the way of the world instead of the way of the Lord. My fiance opted to move out rather than go ahead and get married. I prayed and fasted, and cried and cried and cried some more. That was a week ago and things are getting better. God truly is working things out for the good of those who love Him. I love my fiance and I trust that he loves me. We both love Jesus and are committed to God's will for our lives, continuing to cover each other with prayer. Trusting God to repair the damage done so we can move forward in obedience.

 We began pre-marital counseling and I think we both realized there are some things we need God to work on in our hearts before we marry. I am so thankful and grateful for His presence in both our lives. Because of Jesus and His great love for us we can move forward in love and in our relationship knowing God will use this time to draw us nearer to Him and each other. I am certain that God will bless us for our obedience; honestly He already is. I have spent more time in prayer in the past week than I did in the past month. He has placed me on a prayer team and placed a wonderful new prayer partner and friend in my life. He is teaching me to be patient and trust His perfect timing. As I sit here alone with my children asleep in bed, I still long for someone to share my life with. Even in the storms of life; all I can do is say thank you Jesus for your loving correction and presence. You are enough. Surrendering all to Him and trusting His perfect will and plan. Hoping that this post inspires you to step out into obedience. God doesn't expect us to be perfect and we are all forgiven, washed clean by the blood of Jesus. Able to draw near to God because of His sacrifice. If Jesus has drawn a "line in the sand" on your heart, I encourage you to lay that sin at his feet. God loves us far too much to leave us where we are, He longs for us to grow into the people He created us to be. It's never too late; you're never "too far gone." He promises to save you and forgive you. Please know that I am only sharing my own experience and am in no way judging anyone who may read this. "There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy."

Some verses to hold on to

"Come to me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock;" Matt 7:24

"And your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, "This is the way, walk in it," whether you turn to the right or turn to the left." Isaiah 30:21

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8