Saturday Share with Quantrilla Ard

Today (I’m actually writing this on a Saturday), I happened upon a trilogy of videos on one our streaming services about Jesus, the disciples, and the spreading of the gospel.  Focusing on Christ’s ministry years, the second video drew me in when it highlighted the story of the woman caught in adultery. This particular thing isn’t my sin-issue – if it is or isn’t yours either, just keep reading – God has a way of making the ground level.

When the Pharisees brought the woman to Jesus, He was teaching the crowds that had gathered. Hoping and eager to trap Jesus with religious semantics, they proudly announced that they had caught her in the act of adultery.  In John 8:1-11, this ordeal plays out in public, to the great horror and shame of the woman. The religious leaders “told” Jesus about the Mosaic law stating that a woman in a compromising situation such as this one should be stoned. Then they asked Him what He thought. I submit to you that they didn’t have any idea what was coming.

Jesus proceeds to write in the sand, right where they are standing! The bible doesn’t give us the details of what was written in the sand, but the woman’s accusers immediately retreat after Jesus’ powerful words, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her (vs.7, CSB).” He then continues to write in the sand, until not one of the men who shamed her was left.

… I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love...  Ephesians 3:17-18 CSB

I watched this scene with intense interest and the tears began to pool in my eyes. Jesus asked her who was left to condemn her. She answered that no one was left. He tells her to go in peace because He didn’t condemn her either. Can you imagine the immediate relief and the weight that was lifted from her? I absolutely can because I’m struggling with a thing also. A thing that makes me feel defeated every time I fail.  I can relate to the anguish and guilt this woman felt as these treacherous individuals presented her to Jesus. They presented her not in the way they should have as the spiritual teachers they pretended to be, but as agents of wickedness and deceit; and in the process, they compounded more pain on this woman who was no more than a pawn to them.

As agenda-driven as these men were, God had another in mind. A heavenly one. One that hasn’t changed since the dawning of time. Regardless of the accuser, the sin-issue, the crowd to whom we are exposed, God’s heart for us is to know the length and width, height and depth, of His faithful love for us (Ephesians 3:18).  His love reaches deep down into our souls, forgives us, and redeems us to Him. Then He picks us up by the hand, asks us where are those who condemn us, and shows us they are no longer there. He gives us peace and sends us on our way.  I am so thankful for the gospel in that bible story. It changed the life of a woman over 2,000 years ago, and it changed mine today. The gospel truly changes everything.

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Quantrilla (Quanny) Ard is a faith-based personal and spiritual development writer who lives in the DC Metro area with her husband and three littles. In addition to being a dedicated wife and mother, she is an entrepreneur, doctoral student, and curator of all things lovely. As a woman on her own quest of shining a light on the shadowy, hidden places in her life, she writes as the PhDMamma about things she knows to be true in hopes to encourage others to do the same. Her spiritual goals and her love for Christ propel her quest to share the spiritual journey with other women- to walk alongside them and encourage them with words, deeds, and wisdom. Quanny believes in the power of collective strength, community, and fellowship. You will find her wherever people are sharing stories of triumph.