From Hearing to Experiencing
When some people first hear about Jesus and are attracted by His love, they are only confident enough to let Him in a little bit. Maybe that’s you. There are some areas in your life that you think, “If He knew that about me, He’d walk away.” You might think you need to clean yourself up before you can develop a relationship with Jesus. You’ve heard that He loves you, but you’ve not had the confidence to take the next step.
In John 8, a woman was caught in the act of adultery, and the religious leaders had dragged her in front of Jesus. They publicly condemned her to the Law’s judgment of stoning and asked what Jesus had to say. But Jesus just knelt down and began writing in the dirt with his finger. When they continued to question Him, He stood up and said to the accusers, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He knelt again and went back to writing on the ground. With her life at stake, what relief must she have felt as the accusers slowly walked away?
Imagine her standing there trembling as Jesus stood up and looked at her. There’s little doubt that she had heard about Jesus—that He performed miracles, that some said He was the Messiah, that the religious leaders wanted to arrest Him. But in that moment, she went from hearing about Jesus to experiencing the love of Jesus! She went from overwhelming guilt and condemnation to standing face-to-face with divine mercy! Then came those amazing words from Jesus, “Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And He declared, “I don’t condemn you either. Go and sin no more.”
Can you imagine how her heart was opened by His grace and love? The most intimate wrongdoing in her life had been exposed to everyone in the community, and yet His mercy flooded her heart and gently led her to repentance. That’s what we have to believe about the love of Christ. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. God loves you in Him. There is no area of your life that you cannot open to Him. There is no sin too great! There is nothing that you’ve done that He will not forgive! The Bible says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Before we even knew about Him, He already was in love with us!
Today, take that step from just hearing about the love of God to truly experiencing the love of God. Pursue Him with all your heart!
In John 8, a woman was caught in the act of adultery, and the religious leaders had dragged her in front of Jesus. They publicly condemned her to the Law’s judgment of stoning and asked what Jesus had to say. But Jesus just knelt down and began writing in the dirt with his finger. When they continued to question Him, He stood up and said to the accusers, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He knelt again and went back to writing on the ground. With her life at stake, what relief must she have felt as the accusers slowly walked away?
Imagine her standing there trembling as Jesus stood up and looked at her. There’s little doubt that she had heard about Jesus—that He performed miracles, that some said He was the Messiah, that the religious leaders wanted to arrest Him. But in that moment, she went from hearing about Jesus to experiencing the love of Jesus! She went from overwhelming guilt and condemnation to standing face-to-face with divine mercy! Then came those amazing words from Jesus, “Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And He declared, “I don’t condemn you either. Go and sin no more.”
Can you imagine how her heart was opened by His grace and love? The most intimate wrongdoing in her life had been exposed to everyone in the community, and yet His mercy flooded her heart and gently led her to repentance. That’s what we have to believe about the love of Christ. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. God loves you in Him. There is no area of your life that you cannot open to Him. There is no sin too great! There is nothing that you’ve done that He will not forgive! The Bible says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Before we even knew about Him, He already was in love with us!
Today, take that step from just hearing about the love of God to truly experiencing the love of God. Pursue Him with all your heart!