Day 225: One on One

John 8:1-20; 2 Chronicles 1:1-2:16; Zechariah 14

Wow, what a story of compassion and forgiveness. But something different in this story of the adulteress stands out. The Pharisees, the church leaders brought this woman and "made her stand in the middle of the crowd," revealing her sin to the multitude. They cared nothing for her pain, her dignity, her soul. They were only concerned about their pride and condemning Jesus. Jesus doesn't even address her until EVERYONE IS GONE. He doesn't call her out, embarrass her, harass her, condemn her. With Jesus, it's personal, quiet. The point of our faith, the point of the church is to love like Jesus. He doesn't tell her that her sin is ok, that she needs to go to church more, that she should give more money. He tells her the truth: that he won't condemn her but she should stop living in sin. But again, it's personal, one-on-one. As the church we need to be cautious about gossip or making people's sins public when they need to be just between them and Jesus.

Solomon asks for wisdom, and God is so proud. Why is God proud? Because Solomon was seeking something that was eternal, unseen, not of this earth. Solomon recognized what he needed most was not some earthly substance or power, but something supernatural.

In Zechariah, God promises that there will be a terrible time of war: people will be killed, women raped, homes robbed. It is going to be a devastating time before God comes back to rule. But, despite all that, if we have an eternal perspective, we have hope to look forward to. God will come back, rescue his people, and establish himself as the just and loving King. We don't need to be afraid, because the worst that can happen is that we die. No matter what, if we know and love and follow Jesus, we will get to be with him for eternity, and that is a way bigger deal.