For weeks, God has been speaking to my heart four words. Every time I say them, I feel broken before God.
Lay. Down. Your. Stone
What are you saying to me, Lord? Why do those words bring me to tears every time I speak them?
Lay. Down. Your. Stone
Is it me? What stones do you want me to lay down?
Each time I am brought back to John 8:1-11(NIV):
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
I have read these scripture verses many times. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were trying to test Jesus. Could they accuse the man they call the Messiah of violating Moses’ law? Those caught in adultery were supposed to be stoned for their sin. But this time, while reading these verses, I began to put myself into this scene.
How could the crowd of teachers and Pharisees be so blind? They had the son of God, Jesus Christ, standing before the woman who was guilty of her sin. He was the only one who had the power to condemn and forgive her sins, but all they could do was think about the stone that was supposed to be thrown her way.
How many times have I been like that crowd?
How many times do I want justice more than the One who is justice?
How many times do I want to throw God’s law in someone’s face, more than I want to remind them of the power higher than the law?
Modern-Day Stone Throwing
I can’t help but compare our world today to this scene in John chapter 8. The pandemic, riots, disputes over COVID-19 regulations, racism, and our country’s upcoming presidential election.
I have watched the Christian community react to all of these events. And with every news article, tweet, Facebook post, podcast…God has been quietly speaking to my heart.
Lay. Down. Your. Stone
Then news reports surface of another disgraced Christian evangelical leader who seems to have made a mockery out of God’s commandments leading me right back to picking up a stone.
That stone has words like hypocrite, sinner, and fraud written on it, and I feel ready to strike.
And then, quietly, I feel the brokenness again toward my sin. It’s that ever-present pull of the Holy Spirit calling me out. Instead of Jesus writing on the ground in front of the teachers and Pharisees, he writes it on my heart.
Lay. Down. Your. Stone
I feel broken over those words because I don’t want to walk with the crowd of accusers. I have been in that crowd. I have held stones with my writing, my tweets, my posts, and my voice.
I feel broken inside because I have followed Christian leaders who throw stones, not pointing to Jesus or recognizing their sinfulness.
I feel broken inside because I rarely see sin exposed with compassion and a broken heart toward repentance.
In our modern-day world of communication, I see condemning headlines, angry posts, and a media in the business of stone-throwing.
If I put myself in that scene in John 8, I want nothing to do with that crowd or the modern-day one. I want the measure of my life to point to the saving power of Jesus Christ.
Laying down stones doesn’t mean I forget the commandments of God. It doesn’t mean I look the other way when a brother or sister in Christ sins. It means I drop my stone, remember my sinfulness, and then point to Jesus. He’s there in the midst of it all.
As followers of Christ, how we respond to sin is so important, and the world is watching.
We know the world throws stones—literally! With the violence, protesting, and destroying of property, the world is full of accusers and stone-throwers. Crowds want justice more than the One who is merciful and just.
But as writers, pastors, leaders, teachers— or anyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ— we are to lay down our stones and point to Jesus. Everything we say and do should communicate His truth. He’s the only one that can turn condemnation to redemption.
My Prayer
So here I am, Lord, with those four little words you have spoken to my heart.
Lay. Down. Your. Stone
Please teach me how to separate myself from the stone-throwers. I want to be on the receiving end of your mercy and walk in the call of the gospel.
Help me to point to Jesus with my words and my life.
I am called to hold the hand of that adulterous woman after she feels the sting and shame of her sinfulness, and to teach her how to walk in your forgiveness and grace.
And Father God, heal the brokenness in our land. Let a crowd rise up where the gospel of Jesus Christ is the measure of their lives. A people ready to lay down their stones: their sin, their hurt, their pain, their need for justice, and control. And teach us love, compassion, and mercy for the most sinful among us.
Jesus, you laid down your life for me. The least I can do is lay down my stone.