Road less taken

“The only One qualified to throw a stone did not.”

In the eyes of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, the woman caught is adultery did a grave sin. But Jesus saw the sinner and did not focus on the sin. Unlike the Pharisees who had no regard for the woman’s life or well-being, Jesus cared for her. He did not condemn the woman but extended grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
Jesus asked the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t any of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” the woman answered.
He reassured her with words of grace and truth: “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin”

–John 8:11

Her guilt and shame were addressed; she got hope through ‘forgiveness’.

Jesus always did things differently, especially among the religious folk who were honoured and revered during His time on earth. One aspect of His character that spoke volumes to me is that He went alongside people—whatever He did was for the good of the people. And, He did not look at people based on class, cast or creed—He loved each one uniquely. As a matter of fact, Jesus often hung out with the untouchables, outcasts, thieves, and others in the list of negative labels. He was there to their rescue; He always did the will of His Father. The who, how and what never mattered to Him. But it matters to many Christians today—especially, the ones called to lead. It is very disappointing how we—who are followers of Christ—stereotype people.

Jesus, the perfect One, did not do it, so, how can we—imperfect beings—consider one less than or more than the other? Are we really true followers of Christ? Or is it just a self-righteous label that we hold onto?

As I keep mentioning in my stories, Christian journey is not devoid of struggles or disappointments. Often, Christians slap negative labels on their fellow brethren. And sometimes it can have detrimental effects on one’s spiritual journey. But this is only when people focus on other people instead of God with regard to their faith. This is one important lesson that my father taught me—“NEVER put a religious leader, pastor or elder on a pedestal. Doing so is a recipe for disaster and disappointment.” Being a pastor’s daughter myself, I have seen many falling astray in their walk with God solely because of the aforementioned reason. The good, bad and ugly of Christianity—I have seen it all. And having seen it all, I am here to tell you that Satan always targets Christians. He is always plotting plans to make us drift away from God and, funnily enough, the attacks mostly diverge out of the Christian circle.

Recently, I was labelled “immature” by a Pastor. He made the remark after my husband Joel and I prayed for my father to be raised up from the dead. Sadly, all the statements he made to support the label he gave me weren’t Biblical. Yes, my father was not raised up but that does not stop us from making that prayer again for another. We firmly believe in the power of God that brings life to the dead. Did Jesus Himself not command us to do this as His disciples?

“Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons, freely you have received and freely you give”  – Matthew 10:8

Note: It is Biblical to keep praying and seeking God right until the end.

My intention is not to flay the Christian community but to urge my fellow brethren and sisters to only look to God and trust what He says about you—God and His Word only speaks the truth. Take the case of the Samaritan woman by the well in John 4. She was labelled an outcast by Jews; rejected and hated as well. Yet, Jesus wanted her to give Him a drink of water. The passage tells us that Jesus had to pass through Samaria as He was going from Judea to Galilee. This, in and of itself, was uncommon for Jews to do, as Samaritans were part Jew and part Gentile and both parties disliked each other. The next bit is that Jesus sent His disciples away when He was at the well pointing to the fact that He respected the Samaritan woman’s feelings—she must have been put down and labelled adulterous because she was married five times and probably avoided crowds. It was only Jesus and her at the well. Jesus reveals Himself three times throughout the scene during the conversation beside the well. First, as the Living Water.

After asking the Samaritan woman for a drink, He responds to her by offering her something greater. He says:

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.”
– John 4:10

Then, as a prophet:

“He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.’”

– John 4:16-19

And finally, as the Messiah

“I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” – John 4: 24-26

Boom! Her life was changed in that instant. One thing that we need to understand from this passage is that Jesus is not fazed by our sin. Yes, Jesus did call out the Samaritan woman’s sin but GENTLY—no condemnation whatsoever, only conviction. And He did this in private, not in front of a lot of people. One common factor among many self-righteous Christians is ‘Calling out another’s sin, OUT LOUD’. Jesus is sovereign; He sees the sin within us, He knows all our evil desires and yet, He pursues us—relentlessly. This is why we should only look to Him for men of this world may falter and fail but Jesus never has and never will. He always stood as a light of hope for those deemed unworthy. Can we, like Jesus, be quick to show mercy, grace and kindness even to the outcasts?

There was a point in my life as well when I blindly followed the crowd and believed everything they said. I looked at certain people in a certain way because of certain unpleasant things that I heard about them. It was always hush-hush or a fake smile and wave when these ‘people’ came around me. And for a long time, this went on. But there was a point when I was bang in the centre of these labels and accusations. I was the accused. This was when I could empathise with the ones who were accused before me. Sometimes being at the receiving end of the troubles changes you, inside out. I started seeking God more and deeply meditating the Word. This is when I got this strong desire to strive to be more Christ-like which meant going to uncomfortable places, reaching out to the outcasts, befriending those labelled negatively and praying for my accusers. It is hard but not impossible if you have God by your side.

Last Sunday, our pastor spoke about ‘Enlargement’. He talked about how the troubles of this life, despite how much ever painful and shameful it may be, conditions and enlarges our heart. I said a prayer that moment—“Lord, enlarge my heart so that I may love without conditions!”. Following Jesus is hard but He always takes us through the right path. And, mind you, the path may be narrow, bumpy, twisted and scary, but the destination is beautiful. Also, there may be injured and hurt people along the way who need help. There may be self-righteous Levites and priests going before us, ignoring the hurt man but can we pray that our eyes will be fixed on Jesus and not any leader or authority of this world?

Can we rise above our own troubles and be like the Good Samaritan who stopped to care for the injured traveller?

In the words of the poet Robert Frost

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.”

The questions is–Are you ready to take the road less taken? Or let’s put this way—Are you ready to take the road Jesus points to?