Opportunity or Offense?
In John 8:1-11, we see Jesus giving us a beautiful example of living life through the eyes of opportunity rather than the view of offenses. Our Lord got up early and went where the people gathered. He didn't approach them with a flowing robe, puffed-up title, position, or prominence, but instead, He sat down with them and began to share His heart because He loved them. He even loved those who violently opposed, accused, and judged Him. Let's look at some of the people He loved in this passage.
First, you have the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees coming to Jesus with yet another question. Their intent was to use and accuse. They brought in a woman caught in sin and used her to try and trap Jesus. They cared nothing for the fate of the woman, they just wanted to find a basis to stop Jesus. How would we have responded to these men? Would we have seen them through the eyes of compassion or would we have been highly offended and disgusted? Would we have taken time to teach them and see the value in helping them recognize their own need for a Savior, or would we have given it right back to them? How did Jesus respond?
Jesus turned it into an opportunity to set a woman caught, trapped, accused, condemned in sin FREE! He also used it to reach out to all the self-righteous accusers to show them they also dealt with sin and needed a Savior. He turned the situation into an opportunity to teach a huge crowd that forgiveness sets people (all kinds) of people FREE! He used the very public situation to display a living movie of what it looked like to repent: One minute your sin is on trial and your bondage is on stage and the next minute you have been freed in Jesus' name to go and sin no more! That is the Jesus who we proclaim!
So, can we see others through the eyes of Jesus even when their intent is to use or accuse? Can we take an offensive situation and turn it into an opportunity to let the freedom of Christ shine? Can we leave the writing in the sand to Jesus and instead be the messenger of the Gospel?
Let us go this Christmas Season and by His grace and power turn many potential offenses into divine opportunities to lift up the One and Only Jesus who is full of grace and truth!
First, you have the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees coming to Jesus with yet another question. Their intent was to use and accuse. They brought in a woman caught in sin and used her to try and trap Jesus. They cared nothing for the fate of the woman, they just wanted to find a basis to stop Jesus. How would we have responded to these men? Would we have seen them through the eyes of compassion or would we have been highly offended and disgusted? Would we have taken time to teach them and see the value in helping them recognize their own need for a Savior, or would we have given it right back to them? How did Jesus respond?
Jesus turned it into an opportunity to set a woman caught, trapped, accused, condemned in sin FREE! He also used it to reach out to all the self-righteous accusers to show them they also dealt with sin and needed a Savior. He turned the situation into an opportunity to teach a huge crowd that forgiveness sets people (all kinds) of people FREE! He used the very public situation to display a living movie of what it looked like to repent: One minute your sin is on trial and your bondage is on stage and the next minute you have been freed in Jesus' name to go and sin no more! That is the Jesus who we proclaim!
So, can we see others through the eyes of Jesus even when their intent is to use or accuse? Can we take an offensive situation and turn it into an opportunity to let the freedom of Christ shine? Can we leave the writing in the sand to Jesus and instead be the messenger of the Gospel?
Let us go this Christmas Season and by His grace and power turn many potential offenses into divine opportunities to lift up the One and Only Jesus who is full of grace and truth!
Cannot be reproduced without permission from shellyanne1130@gmail.com