Can you cast the first stone?

There have been plenty of times in my life when I have been reminded of the Bible story about the fallen woman who was moments away from being stoned to death by an angry mob, when Jesus stepped in, and challenged those who were present without sin in their own lives to cast the first stone.

Under that criteria, Jesus alone was qualified to throw a stone at the woman.

Instead, He offered her His hand, and by His gesture, mercy.

We don’t have Jesus here to physically walk with us as the disciples did, nor can we see with our eyes when He steps in on our behalf, as the fallen woman did.

What we do have is a guideline in the Bible for how we are to treat each other.

As we draw closer to Christmas, and the true reason for the season, I am reminded of all the sinners in the Bible… sinners God still found worthy to accomplish His plan.

We all have skeletons in our closet, bones we hope never see the light of day.

No one wants to fall flat on their face before their family, friends, or neighbors.

Certainly King David hoped no one would ever know of his affair with the lovely Bathsheba, the resulting pregnancy, or that he conspired to have Bathsheba’s husband murdered to hide his sin. Yet, God did not see David’s fleshly failings as a reason for him to be removed from his leadership position.

The Apostle Paul, when he was still known as Saul, terrorized Christians and locked them up to be punished or put to death for their beliefs. Yet, God still put Paul in the leadership position of carrying the good news of the Gospel to every corner of the globe. If you remove Paul’s ministry from history, how many would have perished without ever hearing of salvation?

The Bible records the first murder as occurring between brothers Cain and Abel. Jealous when his brother’s offering to God was met with favor while his was not, Cain murdered his brother.

Later, when God asked Cain where his brother was, Cain famously answered, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

God has instructed us to share the good news of salvation with everyone, because we are to keep each other from temptation, to show God’s mercy and forgiveness to each other when we do fall. In short, yes, we are to be our brother’s keeper.

I know there are times I have messed up in life, decisions I would have made differently, mistakes I would have avoided if I had only known the outcome.

I’m sure if you sit and think about it there are some things you might be embarrassed to have made known to the world at large… some mistakes you’ve made you would rather not have your nose publicly rubbed in.

God tells us in the book of Daniel it is He who raises up leaders.

We all hope for leaders who do not make mistakes, who do not need our mercy or forgiveness. In reality, no matter how high a standard we hold them to, our leaders are just as perfect as we are.

Should we then be so quick to cast the first stone when they stumble?