"neither I nor they comdemn you"

In John 8, I have been focusing on some words of Jesus that have come to mean much to me through this next chapter of our lives. The woman who is caught in sin and many of the religious leaders want to stone her, Jesus bends over in the sand and begins to write - eventually they all leave and the woman is left alone with Jesus - his comments to her, is that she is no longer comdemned, by God or by anyone else - she is to go and sin no more. In the last few weeks, I have felt comdemned, but it is not by God. That is something that I am learning in these days, is that God loves me, and he does not comdemn me. Maybe this is the biggest lesson for the church in North America to learn. We have all of our rules, we have all of our doctrines and we often use them to comdemn others, but God is not comdemning, He is loving. It is hard to stay focused on what God believes about me and not focus on what others have said or are saying. Jesus says "go and sin no more". I am trying to not respond in ways that would reflect bitterness, anger and pain. Everyday, I pray for forgiveness from God and everyday I ask God to help me forgive others - the task is immense and it is beyond me - the only way it can truly happen is if it is of God and not of me. May it be so Lord Jesus

I came across this great quote this week and it speaks from my heart - so here it is:
"It matters little or in what century we are called to live out our Christian life. The witness of those who have gone before informs my own experience, telling me that we are often taken to places where we receive unwarranted accolades and to other places where we receive unwarranted suffering and pain. A disciple, one who chooses to be student and follower of Jesus, is not a "self-made" person and is not on a personally designed journey. We choose to follow Jesus and then Jesus chooses where we will go." Reuben Job

Powerful, challenging and hard to live by - may it be so in my life Lord Jesus.