DAY 10
“Grace All Around Us”
Read: John 8:1-11
By: Deborah L. Parker (Rhema Scholar)
God’s grace and mercy is all around us. In today’s passage Jesus spared the life of a woman who was caught in adultery.
There was a group of scribes and Pharisees, who brought the woman to Jesus. They wanted to test Jesus by asking whether she should be stoned. They intended to trap Jesus in his response, because if he agreed to stone her, he would contradict his teachings of mercy and forgiveness. Instead of answering them directly, Jesus responded by saying “let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one, the accusers left because they were convicted by their own conscience.
Jesus then said that he did not condemn her, and he instructed her to “go and sin no more.” The grace and mercy of God can be found in this story in that Christ showed mercy and compassion toward the woman. He offered her forgiveness and spared her life despite her wrongdoing, and despite the law of Moses. This demonstrates God’s willingness to offer second chances to those who repent.
Both the story of the man laying at the pool of Bethesda and today’s passage, show that no matter how much time has passed, and no matter what you are going through in your life, it is never too late for a fresh start. God’s grace and mercy give us a chance for a fresh start every single day.
Use this precious time to repent to God and to embrace a new direction in your life. Whether it is in our financial, health, and/or business journey, let us learn from our mistakes, seek growth, and make positive changes as we enter this new season.
In this new year, not only should we recognize God’s grace and mercy, but we should be an agent of grace and mercy. Let us practice extending grace and mercy to others, offer our support, understanding, and forgiveness, as we reflect on the compassion and mercy that Jesus showed in the stories above. By applying these different things to our daily lives, we can create a more compassionate, forgiving, and empathetic environment in this new season.
