Daily Devotion January 20

January 21: John 8:2-11

KJV Key Verse: John 8:11
She said , No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go , and sin no more.

Devotion:
Have you ever had someone forgive you in such a manner; I don’t mean in the act of adultery but rather after witnessing you do something wrong they were willing to forgive you for what you had done! It is an amazing thing that people are willing to forgive others some of the time. But it is of no real surprise to find out how many people just do not want to forgive others because they think they have gone too far!

Can you imagine what sort of a problem we would find ourselves is Christ turned round and said that He was not going to forgive us even after we said we were sorry? Can you imagine how that would feel, knowing you are truly sorry and that you don’t want to go back and do anything like that again, but you will not be forgiven for doing that thing wrong? It is bad enough when we have arguments with friends or even enemies and find we just don’t want to forgive them or they don’t want to forgive us…

Jesus was willing to show that forgiveness should cover everything and not just the ones we think it should. Forgiveness must also be real and not just a word we use to hide behind to avoid arguments. Yes, forgiving someone can be very difficult but when we ask God to help extend the grace and mercy He shows us to other people, we can then get to forgive them for anything they have done. God had given clear commandments to stone people caught in adultery, and yet Christ was willing to show that in the event where people are actually truly sorry, we should forgive them and give them another chance.

Whether this woman did not ever go back and commit adultery or not is not shown here, but Christ gave her the chance to put it behind her so she could move forward sharing His love and living in the grace He showed her. Imagine how special she would have felt knowing that Christ had forgiven her when all the leaders had all but stoned her already! Forgive and allow people to live!

Points to Ponder:
Do you always forgive?

Will you continue to hold grudges?