Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” John 7:43 NABRE
John tells the story of a woman who is accused of adultery. She is brought before Jesus for judgement, the local leaders wanting to create a dilemma for Jesus, asking what He would do, condemn her to death or forgive her as His message proclaims. Jesus uses their sinfulness to reverse the situation on them and they all walk away with only shame for themselves. Jesus turns His attention to the woman who has been accused, somehow saved from what she must have considered to be the end of her life. She feels shame and embarrassment. We don’t know anything about her, how she was caught or why she is accused but not the man she is accused of being in an adulterous relationship. Sexual accusation is always a way to shame another person, sexual shame, any shame in fact is something we want to bury deep inside so that even we cannot see it or remember it exist. Shame is the worst kind of condemnation we can hear or lay on ourselves. But for Jesus there is no accusation or condemnation, only forgiveness. Jesus takes shame and makes it like any other sin.
All people have sin and no sin provides any means for pride, we should all seek freedom from sin, all sin. With sin we tend to be harder on ourselves than others. But Jesus desires our freedom and to discover we are loved. Jesus doesn’t want us to be overcome with guilt and shame, we will not be perfect but that is ok in Jesus eyes. Most of all Jesus doesn’t want us to hold on to mistakes, sin or error. Rather Jesus wants us to know that we are especially loved and we should love ourselves. In the eyes of God we are the most beautiful beings created and should love ourselves.
Do you hang on to shame? Do you know how beautiful you are in the eyes of God?
Jesus wants us to know that we are especially loved and we should love ourselves. In the eyes of God we are the most beautiful beings created and should love ourselves. Click To Tweet#bible #godisgreat #jesus #christianity #dailybibleverse @youversion #BeAnEncourager #shame #sin #John #everybodyalways #god #jesuschrist #jesussaves #godisgood #dailydevotion #biblestudy #scripture #bibleverse #verseoftheday #cross #last #gospels #loveeachother #godisgreat #thisVineyard #youversion #everythingalways