Flawed

“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”  John 8:7bCountless people buy scratch and dent products.   Such products are fully functional but they have slight imperfections. It doesn’t affect the items ability to perform as designed; it just doesn’t possess the perceived perfect quality of one that is new.Imperfections don’t just occur in things but also with people. The woman in John 8 was, according to her accusers (the teachers of the law and the Pharisees), flawed. So quick they were to discard her as sinful, thoughtless, and worthy of death. Jesus listened to their accusations and without saying a word bent down and wrote on the ground. No one knows what He wrote but her accusers continued to question Him. Their incessant questioning caused Jesus to stand up and ask them a question; “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her”. At this, He proceeded to continue to bend down to write on the ground.A lot of attention has been placed on what Jesus was writing but what about what He was saying. It appears His spoken word was of much more importance especially for this woman than what was being written. Yes, she had sinned but it didn’t mean she wasn’t able to continue to function but not as before; now with the ability to function in the manner Christ intended; redeemed, restored, and renewed.All of us, everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), yet He gives us grace to start over again. We’re all imperfect but the Lord offers forgiveness and restoration. And just like He offers that forgiveness to each of us, that same forgiveness must be extended to others, even those who may have committed an offense against you.We’re all flawed but God deems us useful!  “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,” Acts 3:19