You’re probably familiar with this story. A woman caught in adultery is brought before Jesus as a way to test Him. He then bent down to write in the sand and then said those well know words, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” from John 8.
Here’s a little tidbit that’s actually important in this situation.
FLASH BACK TIME!!!
Back in the book of Deuteronomy 22, there was a passage discussing the consequences of being caught in the act of adultery. “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman.”
SO WHERE WAS THE MAN IN JOHN 8?!?!
Now then, here’s the tea. ??
There’s a potential theory about what Jesus wrote in the sand.
The theory is that Jesus was writing the name(s) of the man (or men) who was a part of this act of adultery the woman had been caught in, which is really interesting and kinda makes sense since the end result was that not one stone had been thrown.
Interesting, huh?
Now, back to the point of this post.
I carried a lot of guilt from when I was sexually abused, especially within the past few years because there was a point in my life where I heard a lot of blame towards me from people I used to be able to trust. Much like the adulterous women, they were ready to tear me down, but in regards to something I wanted no part in. And one thing very in particular, the guy who hurt me deeply was never once mentioned. Just like the man taking part in the adultery from John 8 was never brought forward.
As we’ve been going through our quiet times, we’ve been coming up with our word of the day (I mentioned a couple of those words in my last post). Once I read the story about the adulterous woman, I heard this word so clearly: VINDICATED.
As soon as I got that word, I just wanted to start crying right there in the small building where we cook. I just felt God’s love so much in that moment and that guilt that never should’ve even been there in the first place just lifted. There’s still a lot that I’m learning about myself, but I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that I am free of that misplaced guilt.
