Love in the Dust
Writing Love in the Dust
By Phil Ware
Two Minute Meditations
What in the world did Jesus actually write?
As he was speaking, the teachers of religious
law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of
adultery.
They put her in front of the crowd.
"Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in
the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?"
They were trying to trap him into saying
something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the
dust with his finger.
They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up
again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first
stone!" Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust (John 8:3-8 NLT).
Do you ever wonder what Jesus "wrote
in the dust with his finger"?
I sure do! I've looked at commentaries. I've
tried to run cross-references. I've done word studies as if I could decipher
this code embedded in the gospel.
I've heard all sorts of theories and
explanations — some intriguing, but none convincing to me.
The thought returned again to me early this
morning: "I wonder what
Jesus 'wrote in the dust with his finger'?"
Probably like you, I've seen the Ray Rice
elevator video too many times this week.
Seeing the video once was more than enough,
but it has kept playing and playing on news channels and on sports channels so
that everywhere I've gone this past week, I couldn't seem to escape it.
Now I am inundated with my own set of
questions. When is enough, enough?
When does this event move us as a culture to
do something substantial to protect women?
When does continuing to replay this move from
news to exploitation?
When does this whole event move me to do
something to make a difference? What can I do?
How does this become something that is more
than the hot button for a critical news cycle and then we are on to something
else?
When do we deal with our sports lust that
creates men who think they are entitled and untouchable?
God, what I am supposed to think, feel, and
do in the face of all the violence against women, exploitation of women, and
devaluing of women?
So maybe this whole set of questions is why I
woke up this morning feeling like the Holy Spirit was nudging me with this one
thought: "Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger."
What does this mean, LORD? Holy Spirit what
do you want me to know? What is it that I am supposed to see in this? Jesus,
what do you want me to do?
I went back and read the story once again in
several translations. I chased one clue.
The word translated "dust" is
really the word for "earth." Does that mean something special?
Is the message that Jesus wrote his love into
the earth he created — written in dust, not chiseled into stone like the
Mosaical Law — establishing a new principle that transcends law?
Hmm... interesting thought, but I'm not sure
that's the point here.
The more I listened to the story and leaned
in for the help of the Holy Spirit, the more I kept coming back to one clear
realization: the story mentions that Jesus wrote in the dust twice, but never
told us what Jesus wrote.
Maybe what Jesus wrote isn't the point here.
Asking what Jesus wrote is a Bible class
question, a question to escape the cauldron of conflict that is going between Jesus
and the "teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees."
The woman is in this story for no other
purpose than to serve as an illustration in the religious teachers' debate with
Jesus.
The woman was little more than window
dressing with an exclamation mark for the religious teachers. She was there to
help them make their point and trap Jesus!
What I kept hearing in my heart was this
message:
Phil, this is a woman who was being exploited
by religion. What does it matter what Jesus wrote? Isn't what Jesus did the
real message here?
I must stand between. I must write love in
the dust.
Yes, what Jesus did is what really
matters. Jesus wrote love in the sand that day.
I don't know the words, but I do know this:
Jesus wrote love in the sand by standing between a mob worked into a frenzy and
a humiliated and publicly exposed woman.
She wasn't there voluntarily. Yes, she had a
role to play in this drama — she had been caught in the very "act
of adultery."
But, she wasn't the only one caught in
the "act of adultery" and the man's absence tells us
pretty much everything we need to know about the motives in this situation.
She was there as little more than a piece of
evidence — exploited and dehumanized before a gawking and angry mob.
So Jesus stooped down and wrote love in the
dust. Just as he had at creation, Jesus made new life out of the dust of the
ground. This woman was given a new life out of an awful and inescapable mess.
For me, the message is pretty simple and very
clear. Any time I stand between a group (or individual) and a woman being
exploited, abused, or violated, I am following the example of Jesus.
I am writing love in the dust of a fallen
humanity who has repeatedly objectified, sexualized, and exploited women to
satisfy its religious, political, and lust-driven agendas.
I must stand between. I must write love in
the dust.
How else can I call myself a follower of the
Jesus who twice wrote love in the dust that day so long ago? Isn't that kind of
behavior just as needed today?
Moving Beyond Just Talk
I am fairly certain
you will have many chances in your life to personally stand between a woman and
her accusers and exploiters.
Calling law enforcement authorities for help
when you know a woman is being abused or exploited is one clear way to help.
Saying no to pornography is one way to refuse
to fund and supply another member of the audience to an industry we know
exploits women and enslaves children.
But what are some other ways - practical ways
- to stand between and write love in the dust for women today?
For global ways to help, here are three ideas
I hope you will consider.
For women and young girls who are victims of
sexual slavery, International Justice Mission is a great resource and does
great work all over the world. If you are not familiar with them, please take
some time to look at their website. I know and visited with some of their
staffers on the ground in Asia and try to keep up with their work all over the
world.
For women who are pregnant, needing help, and
also wanting their children to find loving Christian families, you can support
a respected and licensed Christian adoption agency or Crisis Pregnancy Center.
I have worked with Christian Homes and Family Services and believe in what
they do, but there are possibly some in your area that do similar work. Please
check before you support, to find out their reputation, their licensing, and
the quality of care for the women they serve.
Events like The Esther Initiative that that
seek to invest in the lives of women with Biblical materials or help women find
money making projects they can do while caring for their children. One of the
lest heralded pieces of Compassion International’s work with families is
their help with women developing these projects that help bring in a little financial
support to help them care for their families in areas that are in extreme
poverty.
God never calls us to do
something for Him that He does not empower us to do if we are willing to do the
work and time. Take the time to get to know God in an intimate way.
Your purpose on earth is to
shine God’s love to a lost and dying world.
Open your ears and your heart
to the Lord and be excited about your new future serving Him in spirit and
truth.
God has made it possible for
you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life.
Serve Him.
Wait on Him.
And expect … for He is able to
do much much more than you can ask or imagine.
Settle that sin issue ...
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have
separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from
my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid
sinning again.
I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ
died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of
my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that
according to Your Word, I am now born again.
Please send Your Holy Spirit to help
me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. I promise to study
Your Word – the Bible.
Use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.”
Phil Ware works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry Partners and for the past 18 years, he has been editor and president of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com and aYearwithJesus.com. (Visit the Author's Website)
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