Stay at Home Mom

John 8:1-11

¹ Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.

² And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

³ And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,

⁴ They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

⁵ Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

⁶ This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

⁷ So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

⁸ And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

⁹ And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

¹⁰ When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

¹¹ She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

As we are getting ready to celebrate spring, I can’t help but remember the year my husband and I decided to grow a garden. It was 2020, and we were just starting to experience quarantine and a pandemic that turned our world upside down. We had set up two raised bed gardens. One area was set up for herbs and the other for vegetables. We could not just grow it in the ground that we had in the backyard. It had not been cultivated to grow herbs and vegetables. Cultivate means to prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening.

I can’t help but look at the scripture and wonder what Jesus was writing on the ground. I can only imagine that He was preparing this ground. The religious leaders claimed to have caught this woman in the act of adultery. How many of us can say that this is our greatest fear? Our dirty little secret is exposed to the world. Who will look down on me? Who will disown me? Will I end up all alone? 

I couldn’t be in the place where this woman was. She was on trial where everyone could see. I imagine her looking at the ground as her accusers proclaim her sin to the world. Not only was she caught doing the wrong thing, but that thing was also being told to everyone that was on the streets that day. It is going to be a part of every gossip column and social media outlet. People are going to be talking about this for weeks. “How could she do it and get caught?” “She’s giving a bad name to women all over the world.” “There’s no way I could be associated with someone like her.” You know, the religious community likes to condemn people who are not themselves.

Here she is in a state of complete shame and all she can do is look at the ground. Have you ever felt so low that all you can do is look down? There’s nothing special there on the ground, and at this moment I do not feel special either. I gave my heart to that person when people told me not to, and now I am in pain for the world to see. Made a bad deal in this business, and here I am exposed and broken. I did that thing I said I wouldn’t do again, but here I am caught up again as if I never made that promise. The world is watching to see what will happen next.

Jesus stoops down and writes on the ground. The Bible doesn’t state what was written, but people have stated what God has revealed to them. God is telling us that he is willing to stoop down where we can see him, in the middle of our mess, and write a solution to our problem. He’s going to use the moment that you thought would ruin you and make it work out for your good. The law may say to stone you when you sin, but Jesus is writing an amendment. The only people that can stone you are those who have never committed a sin. There is only one person that has never sinned, and He is writing forgiveness on the ground. He is writing second chances on the ground. He is writing new beginnings on the ground. As He continues to write on the ground, every weapon that was created to come against you will fail. I can hear the stones that were meant to crush you falling from the hands of your adversaries. I can see them falling around you. When Jesus stops writing, you will be in awe of the power in the words that set you free. When He speaks again, you get to say that no stones were thrown at you in condemnation. In that, I hope you are in agreement with Him that the thing, that has been keeping you from growing, has to go. It’s time to let it go. God has a better life for you to live. He has written forgiveness in the soil of your life. Just like He has written it in mine.