It had been several months since our engagement. The time seemed to have flown by. All the arrangements have been made and soon we would be married! Seeing both our families enjoying our marriage and supporting us was one of the most prevalent and enjoyable thoughts I have had since our engagement. For this reason I could not help but want to spend as much time with my future husband as I could. Every waking moment seemed to have my thoughts fixed on him. Tonight I just want to spend time with him. I know that spending time with any man, even the one I am engaged to, before our actual wedding day is considered adultery but right now I am so excited I am willing to take that chance. I run over to his place early in the morning and while there we were both over come with such passion for each other we could not stop ourselves. To me it was no big deal, I mean we were going to be married very soon anyway. However if I knew what would happen next I would have never gone over to his place.

It was early in the morning and I was enjoying this time with my fiancé. I felt so comfortable with him and loved feeling his arms around me. Some time later that morning I remember thinking I heard noises like men talking getting closer but I was too focused on him and the voices sounded like they were far off anyway kind of like a dream so I did not pay much attention to them. In fact I wish that is what this was, a dream, or better, a nightmare. At that moment the door flew open and several men were standing there looking at my naked body. I did not have time to cover and was so embarrassed I did not what to do except freeze. These were large men some and so strong to be able to pick me up by my hair and arm. The man who grabbed me his grip was so tight i felt like my arm was going to explode. They were “kind”enough to let me throw a covering on before dragging me outside.

Our roads are made of dirt and being drug threw it did not seem to make the situation any better. In less that 30 seconds I was elated with the thought of the eventual marriage to my fiancé and spending my life with him to being drug through these dirty streets with no reason as to why. The dirt was transformed to mud on my cheeks from the tears running down my face. In between sobs I was able to ask “what do you want” but with each desperate plea came no response. Through my tears I was able to recognize a few of these men. These were men from my family and his. This makes some sense as these men would be the only ones who would have known I was seeing my fiancé. But what do they want with me? I thought I could trust them I thought they loved me. Why were the very people I had the most love for the ones dragging me through the streets like a dog?  They threw me face down in the dirt in the middle of a huge crowd.  I was so numb from the emotion of this moment I could not move I laid there in the dirt both unwilling and unable to move. I hurt all over and was now being humiliated in front of all these people.

I heard one of these men begin to talk to another man who was in the middle of this crowd “this woman was caught in adultery according to the law we are to stone her what do you say?” He asks my life is hanging in the balance at this moment and apparently this other man has some kind of authority and it’s his authority these men are looking for to end my life. I am waiting on this man’s response but it never comes. Instead he does something no one expected he comes over and stands beside me and began writing in the dust. I finally have someone who is willing to stand with me in my humility and shame? I don’t even care what he is writing, just to have someone standing with me right now is more than I could hope for.

Again my tormentors ask the question “what should we do with her” they are talking like I’m not even there. Like I am just a pawn in a little game that is going on. Their questions become more intense with each passing moment. There is so much hostility I am certain this situation is going to blow up and I will be the victim. no one cares what will happen to me except this one man at my side. I’m so scared I cry in my head God please save me. As if an answered prayer the man writing in the sand silences the crowd and stands back up. His one sentence stuns the crowd “if any of you is without sin let him throw the first stone”.

I look around and this man stoops back down as the men begin talking amongst themselves. In this moment I sense a glimmer of hope. Is it possible that in 13 words this man saved my life? One by one these men disarmed themselves and walked away. I remember staring in disbelief as the group of men grew smaller and smaller

After what seemed like an hour only one man stood there. I couldn’t collect my thoughts. I had dried dirt and tears all over my face. I know I looked a mess and felt even worse inside. I just stood there in silence. What was this final man going to do, what did he want with me? The only thing I remember wishing was he’d just leave too. I wanted to go back home and finish my cry in solitude. What happened next I was not expecting and it would become something I didn’t know I needed.

He walked over to me and hugged me. The warmth of his eyes were so captivating and without even saying a word I felt loved for the first time since i was pulled away from my fiancé! This time I was so overjoyed for this compassion he showed me I once again cried but this time it was not of sadness.  He dried my tears and with a genuine tone he asked me “where are your accusers? Didn’t even one condemn you?”

“No one, sir” was all I could manage

“Than I too do not condemn you. Go and sin no more.”

Who was this man who saw my shame for what it was and still love me? I know I have made a mistake. In fact in my life I had made several but this was the worst of them. This man saw me at my worst and stood beside me. I have heard of a man like this before, I remember the towns folks have called him Jesus. He is to bring hope to the hurting and love to the unloved. They have called him the bread of life and the great “I AM”. How could I deny any of this to be false when I have experienced the very love and hope he has shared with me? I just wish I could live up to his statement “go and sin no more” how does one do that? For some reason I believe the answer will be found through him.