Motivated To Change

Then Jesus stood up again and said to her, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:10-11

Grace is a great motivator. Most of us, however, think that the way to get people to change their behavior is through confrontation. Most of us live with the mistaken notion that people will repent if we point out their sin and condemn them for their actions.

That is exactly how the story in John 8 began. A group of influential men in the community publicly accused a woman of adultery and were ready to condemn her. They brought the woman, whom they had caught in the very act of adultery, to Jesus to find out what he had to say about the situation.

Jesus didn’t angrily send these men away, and he didn’t give them a “rubber stamp” approval for what they wanted to do. Instead, he gave them the go-ahead to condemn her—but with one condition: The one among them who had no sin in his life should be the one to cast the first stone. Jesus brilliantly silenced all of them because he pointed out the undeniable fact that they too were sinners deserving condemnation and in need of forgiveness.

But what Jesus did next was even more remarkable. He offered this sinful woman forgiveness, giving us his greatest lesson on motivating people with grace. Jesus knows that people who understand they are forgiven will live a life pleasing to God. His is not the cheap forgiveness that says “What you did is no big deal,” but he offers a free and complete forgiveness that challenges us to “Go and sin no more.”

How do you respond to those who need forgiveness? Do you confront and condemn them like the religious leaders who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery? Or do you lovingly reach out and show them the free forgiveness Jesus offers?

Lord, help me to show those who need Jesus’ forgiveness what it really looks like, and help me to do it without a hint of condemnation.