Abounding grace

The Scarlet Letter is the story of a woman found in adultery and required to wear a scarlet “A” on her dress as a symbol of shame. We do the same thing, don’t we? We label people based on a mistake. Sadly, it’s just as true in some churches as it is in the secular culture. That isn’t how God sees us and labels us. He takes off the graveclothes of sin and covers us in the garments of salvation (see Isaiah 61:10). He gives each of us a new name, a new identity, a new destiny. There’s a storyline in John’s gospel that’s not unlike Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. A woman was caught in the act of adultery. The religious mob was ready to stone her to death when Jesus stepped in. His defense was pure brilliance: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone” (John 8:7 NKJV). One by one, they dropped their stones and walked away. Then Jesus told her, “Go and sin no more” (v. 11 NKJV). When you hear about someone’s failure, remember John Bradford’s famous adage: “But for the grace of God, there go I.” Live by the maxim, “Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it.” That’s how you change someone’s life. That’s what Jesus did with this woman. When the Pharisees were writing people off, He was writing them in. When everyone else showed them the door, Jesus showed them grace. Grace is the catalyst that turns guilt into gratitude. One act of grace can turn the worst moment into a defining moment in someone’s life. And you can be that agent of grace.