Key Scripture:

“A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;” Ecclesiastes 3:5a

Devotional:

Our God, the Author of life, has given every one of us a story. As I’ve entered into people’s stories over the years, I’ve left countless conversations reminded of the heartbreaking reality that oftentimes Christians are telling people a story, and that story is nothing like the one we read on the pages in God’s Word. 

Throughout history, stones have embodied dualistic symbolism, representing both destructive judgment and constructive restoration. This paradoxical nature is illustrated beautifully in the biblical account of the woman caught in the act of adultery. In John 8:1-11, the Pharisees stepped into the most broken part of this woman’s story with the intention of bringing public shame, judgment and death for some of the decisions she had made. Yet, Jesus stepped into her story with the invitation of forgiveness, restoration and abundant life. 

The Pharisees came to judge her sin, but Jesus came to restore her story.

Nearly 2000 years later, we experience a similar narrative playing out in our day. From social media to Bible studies, we, like the Pharisees, are corporately missing out on the work of God in our generation because we are so focused on debating about the sin of man. We have forgotten that understanding begins with a conversation, not a hashtag hidden behind a screen. We too are buying the lie that we can transform the world without actually engaging it.

What if we too are using our words to destroy the very same people Jesus came to save? What if we too are responsible for the shame that bullies people further and further away from the heart of the Father?

A few chapters later in the book of John, we find Jesus and the disciples in the upper room. After Jesus washes the disciples’ feet and breaks bread with them, He says this, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. ”¹

In recent years, we have all been experts at making enemies, but what if we became better at making friends? What if we dared to change the whole narrative, the whole story of our day, by leveraging every free moment that we have in this season to love the people in our lives and cities so fiercely that all people would know that we are his disciples?

For me, practically, it has looked like sharing countless cups of coffee with my transgender friend who statistics say is likely to have considered suicide, so that I could find moments to tell her about the God who says that she is fearfully and wonderfully made.²

It has looked like weeping with my friend who had an abortion a few years ago and is still trying to climb her way out of the deepest, darkest pit of shame imaginable, so that I could remind her through tears about the God who says there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.³

It has looked like babysitting for my friend who is a single mom that works two jobs and dances on the weekend, so that I could spend the next morning telling her about the God who promises to meet all her needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.⁴

It has looked like showing up in the middle of the night to rescue my friend who relapsed on heroin after she had been clean for the previous seven years, so that I could write her letters weekly about the God who has good, good plans for her that are full of a future and a hope.⁵

It has looked like packing boxes with my friend who is navigating a messy divorce and feels like her life has been shattered into a million pieces, so that I could tell her about the God who is close to the brokenhearted.⁷

And it has looked like choosing to love my religious friend, who has thrown stones into some of the stories of my friends above, so that I could gently remind her that it’s God’s loving kindness that leads people to repentance, not her words.⁸

Each of these stories has a face and a name and they have each changed my life for the better. Our relationships are messy, and beautiful, and I want to leverage every moment that I have with them letting them know that they are not just loved by me, but by the God of the universe.

The love that Jesus calls us into is the one that chooses to wash people’s feet instead of throwing stones. So, what if we collectively dropped our stones and took Jesus’s command to love one another seriously? 

When people come home to their Father, it changes everything. 

Deepening questions:

• When you encounter people who believe differently than you, do you desire to be right or to be righteous? Why is this? 
• Who in your life do you need to bring the comfort, restoration and reconciliation that only the good news of the gospel offers no matter how costly or messy it is?
• Part of our focus in the 10:10 Life is Abundant Life where we are on a mission to care for different groups of people that the enemy is trying to take out. How can you leverage this season to invest your time serving the most vulnerable?

Further reading:

John 7:53-8:11; John 13:1-35

Footnotes:

¹ John 13:34-35 ² Psalm 139:13-14 ³ Romans 8:1 ⁴ Philippians 4:19 ⁵ Jeremiah 29:11 ⁷ Psalm 34:18 ⁸ Romans 2:4