As I lay in bed one night, another night of sleeplessness, I found my mind rehearsing a speech I so wish I could give. I must confess I have not yet mastered the discipline of throwing off worry and I often become anxious at the way things are in our world. So, I lay there, going over and over in my mind the words I wish I could say if I had the opportunity. The topic changes depending on that day’s happenings. But most recently, I can’t get away from this topic.
My audience? Everyone. Including myself. The scene? Someone speaking, hurling derogatory statements at the one they see at fault. They stand there self-righteously tossing their stones up in the air from one dirty hand to another, eager to throw. As I stand up to this speaker, I would start my speech something like this:
In the Words of our Savior, “Let he without sin cast the first stone.”
No, the person you are speaking of is not perfect. Neither am I. Neither are you. In fact, the only Perfect One to have ever and will ever walk this earth is the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23 states, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
“No, I’m not perfect, but I’m better than they are,” they say, pointing their finger at their target.
But guess what? When you stand before God, He is not going to compare you to the one you are trying to be better than. No. He will be looking at you and looking to His Son.
“Does this one belong to You?” the Father asks the Son.
Because you see, Christ died for everyone. Scholars say that Christ was hanging naked on the cross. I beg to differ. I believe all my filthy, sin stained garments that I, at times, try to find enjoyment in wearing, was thrown on Christ. Yours were, too. So often when we think of sin, we think of the ugly, “big” sins. Murder. Robbery. Rape. But no. In God’s eyes, sin is sin. Not just those “big” sins, but every harsh word on our tongues, every unkind thought in our mind, every impatient breath we blow out, every little lie we speak, every attitude of pride that keeps us from apologizing or accepting apologies, are all filthy rags.
Imagine us all standing before the cross, tossing one stained and torn rag on Christ after another. Those rags formed a garment of death.
I wonder which sin thrown from which person was the last stitch in that ugly robe that shrouded Christ?
Those pieces of rags must have felt like stones thrown on Jesus. Then God had to turn His face from His perfect, sinless Child, not because of His nakedness, but because of the cloak of sin He wore.
But then, praise be to God that Christ rose again! That sin stained garment is gone. And when we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord, His red blood washes us white as snow. Our sins are forgiven!
Will Christ recognize you when you stand before Him? Will the Sacrificial Lamb see His red blood placed on you in exchange for your filthy rags and be able to say, “Yes, this one is Mine,” to the Father?
Or are you still wearing the filthy garments of sin that Christ died for?
God will see each of us as individuals, not comparing us with anyone else. It’s time we drop the rocks. None of us are good enough to throw them.
Check out this song, “Rocks,” by The Isaacs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQDCnKvAi74