When the Pharisees brought the prostitute to Jesus’ feet and recommended that they stone her,  they were trying to trap him. With a smirk on their faces they waited expectantly for his reaction.   What would he say? What would he do?

The young woman knelt at his feet.  Her body was shaking in terror. She was humiliated and full of soul crushing shame.   He was Jesus, the son of God. He was holy. She knew what his verdict would be. This was how her life was going to end.  But what he did next not only shocked her – it healed her.

He began writing in the sand.   What he was writing no one really knows.   But this is what I believe. He was writing a new story for her life.  He was writing a true and undefiled love story. As he wrote in the dirty sand beneath his feet,  he was washing her slate clean and free of the filth of her past and her present. As he wrote in the sand, he was declaring her freedom; her value and her beauty.      Because you see, when God says that you are loved, there is not an enemy in the world that can stand against that. When God says that you are chosen, there is not an accuser that can say otherwise.  When God says that you are invited, then your accusers have to walk away. And that’s exactly what they did. When he turned to them and said, “if any of you is blameless I invite you to cast the first stone,”   they knew better than to lie to Him. Then Jesus turned to the woman and said, “Is anyone condemning you?” And this, friends, is what we need to ask ourselves daily. Is anyone accusing you? When Jesus doesn’t accuse you – no one else has the right to accuse you – not your spouse, not your children,  not your enemies, and not even yourself. Because what Jesus says is what counts and Jesus says that there is no accuser at your feet. You are free because when Jesus sets you free you are free indeed!!

Jesus says in John 8:32 that “you will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”  How do we know the truth? We need to speak the truth to our soul every day. We need to speak the truth to our minds everyday.  When you look in the mirror and you see an unwanted person, you need to speak the truth. 

You are chosen. 

You are handpicked. 

When you see a woman who is ugly,  who is frightened, who is weak, who is broken,  who is not enough – wipe those accusations away.  Stamp them into the ground to pulverize them. 

God says you are wanted and named.

God says you are enough.

God says you are unique and beautiful and lovely and he treasures you.

God says that you are strong and brave.  

That is the story that he writes in the sand at your feet today. Let his words be your voice.  Those are the words that you say to yourself everyday. Don’t fight it. Dont argue with it. Allow the whispers to be branded into your very soul.   You look in the mirror, put your hand on your heart and announce the truth of God until you beleive it. Say it even after you beleive so that you don’t ever forget it.

What God says cancels every accusation.

What God says is matters.