I remember as a child picking stones up on the train tracks and throwing them as far as my little arm could. Sometimes I would imagine I was playing centerfield for the Cincinnati Reds, and I would throw the runner out at home plate. The Reds win! The Reds win! Oh, the imagination of a child.

As I got older, I used to carry a stone my pocket. No, not to throw out the tying run at home, but to remind myself not to throw stones at others. To lay down all the stones that had words like judgement, hate, ugliness and other negative words written on them.

As Christians we are good at throwing those painful invisible stones at people. The stones may be invisible, but the pain they bring is real. To that single mom with multiple children we throw judgment at. To that homeless man. To that person walking into church that doesn’t dress or act the part of the “Christian” we have created in our mind.

I often reflect on the women in the Bible caught in adultery. She was brought to Jesus by men who were ready to throw rocks/stones at her. Our Savior knew this woman was guilty. But Jesus came not to judge, but to love and save lives. Can you imagine the look on this women’s face as Jesus started writing in the sand and her accusers quickly moved along.

We all have issues going on in our own lives. Things we would hate for others to see. It’s easy to throw stones at others, but remember that we too need forgiveness. We all need a little bit of grace.

I pray we will keep all of our stones in our pockets. We have all sinned and fallen short. Thank goodness Jesus died for all of our sins. I do not want to be like the men in John 8:1-11 that were so willing to throw their stones. As Christians our goal should be to become more like our Lord and Savior. To lay our stone down at the foot of the Cross. ~OC