John 8:11 - "She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"
Surprise!
Who likes surprises? I guess, for all of us, it depends on what kind of surprise you're talking about.
Yesterday, I was just plain ol' surprised when I was charged $15 at CVS pharmacy for a gift card that was supposed to take $15 off my bill. A net loss of $30. But we worked it out, and it was no big deal.
And then there are pleasant surprises. As a pastor, I feel blessed when someone walks into my life for any reason because the person is almost always making her/himself vulnerable with a matter of the heart. But, it's always a pleasant surprise when someone walks into your life who is Godly, Christ-centered, Spirit-filled, grace-flowing, relationally-wise, divinely-prioritized, Biblically-valued, humble-AND-meek-bent, long-term-oriented, patiently-persevering, kid-sharing, huge-hearted, sharp-minded, kind-and-compassionate, socially-confident, smoothly-articulate, community-involved, the-more-the-merrier-postured, fun-filled, silly-humored, flower-loving. You, of course, can make your own list of traits that pleasantly surprise you, but that's part of mine. And when I see those traits with someone who comes to church or that my kids tell me they met at school, then I'm pleasantly surprised.
But easily the best possible surprise is when we're met with grace. Grace by it's nature is surprising because grace is always undeserved. God's word is clear that God's grace alone makes life worth living. For example, fundamentally, we didn't do anything to be called into being because we didn't exist, so how could we deserve to be created? That we exist is purely God's grace. It's a surprise. The best surprise.
Today's Bible verse, gives us another example of grace as the best surprise. It's the example of forgiveness. Forgiveness is when an offended party gives up the right to get even with the offender. Though the consequences of sin touch people, all sin is against God because sin, by it's nature, is a rebellion against God and his word. So when the woman, caught in adultery, is spared by Jesus's wisdom instead of stoned by the people of the town, she's surprised. When Jesus though takes it further and doesn't condemn her but forgives her and sends her on her way to live a new life. She's downright shocked. Surprise! The best surprise. The surprise of grace. The surprise of something totally underserved coming your way.
Friends, I constantly hear people talking about wanting a better world. Well, the power to make it better is in our reach. All it takes is our lifting our hearts and thanking God for his surprising grace. And then passing it along. People will be surprised, even shocked, like the woman caught in adultery. And your world, our world, will instantly be a better place!
Let's do it! Wooohooo!
Praise God!
Pastor Chris
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson
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