Forgiven, Redeemed, Set Free
As the day nears its end and the streets began
to go silent there is a woman who dreads this time of day. For some nighttime is a time of rest, but not
for this woman. With the darkness comes the “promise” of a
man. She wants so badly to be held and
promised tomorrow. Her heart aches to be
known for the woman that she is, and not the acts she does. She lies to herself that maybe tonight is the
night. Maybe this time he will
stay. Maybe this time if I am just good
enough he won’t go away. Maybe this time
will be enough to fill my heart. She
beckons him in and for a few moments it seems right. The pleasure is there, but as he walks out
the door the blood drains from her heart once more. What a cruel cruel game she is allowing to be
played. As dawn breaks she hears a knock
on the door. She knows the faces on the
other side of the door. She has seen them
all once or twice before. But why are they here now in the light of
day? The men grab her by the arms and
drag her to town. Is this some kind of
nightmare? She tries to shade her eyes
from the blinding sunlight and the stares of judgement that come in the light
of day. She wears shame like a heavy
cloak. Not only does it “hide” her away
but it reminds her that she isn’t good enough every moment of every day. As they near the center of town she sees the
people gathered around. “Oh great” she
thinks “My fate is now sealed. They’ve
all come to watch.” There at the center
of the crowd is this man they call Jesus.
The two worlds she tried so desperately to keep apart have now collided
together. The darkness of night and the
light of day never mix well. Jesus looks
into her eyes and sees all the way to the deepest part of her soul. She quickly breaks the stare by looking down
to the ground. She is used to looking
there to avoid the judgemental glances and the hate filled stares. The men ask Jesus what he is going to do with
this woman? The law says to kill her
does he agree? Jesus bends down and
begins to trace his finger in the sand. Jesus wrote a message only the woman
would understand the full meaning of. He
wrote it out because He knew all the promises other men had made to her had
been spoken out. He was different than
the rest. His promise of love and
redemption were real. What did he write?
Guilty as charged? Whore? I’ve seen it all?
Filthy? Worn? The men want an answer, what is her fate? Jesus stands up and says to them “Let him who
is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her”. At this moment he bends down and starts
writing again. Forgiven my Queen. You’re
redeemed. You’re brand new. One
by one the men walk away. They wanted
justice but instead were shown love.
This time as Jesus stands once more, he places his hand gently beneath
the woman’s chin and raises her head. He
catches her eyes once more and for the first time in her life she feels a
warmth pouring into her soul. The stare
isn’t filled with cold condemnation but forgiveness and love but its even
greater than that. It is filled with a
challenge to live her life better. Her
heart feels alive inside her chest. For
the first time it is filled with love and light. He has given her the greatest gift ever
given. Redemption coupled with
purpose. She now has a mission.
No comments:
Post a Comment