As we walk through life, we are often faced with the challenge to accept the opinions of others. You have been called a name that was hateful, you have been made fun of, you have felt weak, and you have felt worthless. We all go through it.

When do we get a break? Why do we feel as if the whole world is against us? This is where we fall short of not living life through God. When you read the two words, grace and truth, we see them as not mixing well. Grace is known to be fragile and forgiving, but once the word truth is thrown in there we freak out, and sometimes we don't ever want the truth to come out. I'm reminded each time I read from the Bible in the book of John, chapter eight that we are all the same in our weaknesses, but Jesus is the one who provides us with the strength and comfort that only he can provide us with.

In John chapter eight, verse four through six it states "and said to Jesus, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? 'They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him." We immediately question ourselves on what we would do if we were in Jesus' shoes. "Do I show the woman grace and forgive her? Or do I go with the truth side and do what the law says?"

Jesus then lowers himself to the ground and begins to write in the dirt with his finger. But after moments of the Pharisees questioning him, he arose and spoke saying, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then Jesus went back down to writing on the ground. The Pharisees were puzzled at this question and began to look around at one another. One by one, the people backed away from the circle they had formed until there was only Jesus left next to the woman.

In verse 10 Jesus stands and looks to the woman to ask her “'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She replies '

This is where Jesus blows my mind. He says to the woman:

"'Then neither do I condemn you,' Jesus declared. 'Go now and leave your life of sin.'”

Right there! Did you read that? "Neither do I.." is where we see and know the grace of God is shown. "Go now and sin no more." is the truth that God speaks to all.

We can find grace and truth in Christ. When we have only grace and no truth, that is leading people to not see God. When we have only truth, we are without hope.

Grace and truth do say that you have sinned, but you have to remember that you have a savior! Yes, you may have the whole world against you. Yes, you may feel like all eyes are on you from time to time. Yes, people will talk and stair. But understand that you have a Savior who knows your thoughts, He knows where you've been, he knows your mistakes, your worries, your doubts, your struggles. He has seen you in your darkest times, he has held you when you felt alone, he has kept you standing when all of the weight was falling on you, he has wiped your tears and sins away, he stood right by you when that bully called you something that tore you apart. He was there and he will always be there! After reading this, you may compare your life to the woman who was about to be stoned for her wrongdoings, and though you may not see your sin on the same level as this woman's faults, Christ sees every sin the same, and we cannot point our fingers at another for a human characteristic we all struggle with.

Next time you persecute someone for sinning, remember that if God were to say Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,” you wouldn't be able to throw the stone at another either. God's grace and truth is the only judgement you need.