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Is God Good—Is God Fair?

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Can you imagine how terrified this woman must have felt? The punishment for adultery in her day was death by stoning. And here she was caught in a deceptive trap and brought out into the public. However, it is also critical to understand that before Jesus told her to go and not commit adultery again, he met the basic need in her life, the lack of which was driving her into acts of sin.

This is a profound truth and needs to be understood. Counselors tell us that many a prostitute (or loose living woman), for example, is one who has been hurt deeply by her father or another significant male ... often having been sexually abused as a child. Thus she is very angry at men because she had been violated and her own needs for loving acceptance were never met. And now, as an adult (or teenager), she is not necessarily doing this consciously, but in one way or another she is hitting back at her father (or her violator) by becoming sexually promiscuous. She also may be desperately searching for the father's love she never received as a child and is thus looking for love in all the wrong ways and places, or she may be trying to prove to herself that she is attractive and wanted as a woman. This, of course, never works and only makes a woman feel more used and unloved for the simple reason this kind of sex is never love. (Some men do the same thing in looking for the mother's love they never received.)

In all probability, for the very first time
in her life this woman was loved and
accepted by a man for whom she was
—and not for what she had to offer.

When Jesus dealt with this adulterous woman, he looked beyond her outward behavior and could see her damaged emotions and unmet need for loving LINE 100 acceptance. While he didn't condone her sin nor condemn her for it, before telling her not to commit this sin again, Jesus first met the deep unmet need in her life—the lack of which was undoubtedly driving her into acts of sin—that is, the lack of loving acceptance. In all probability, for the very first time in her life this woman was loved and accepted by a man for whom she was—and not for what she had to offer. The kind of love that every one of us needs to fully live and to fully love.

What Jesus did for this woman was to meet her deep unmet need for a father's love and loving acceptance. In so doing he healed her deep father wound, delivering her from her compulsion to act out in self-destructive sinful behavior.*

Again, this is a perfect example of God being good, fair, loving and forgiving.

Keep in mind, too, that Jesus was able to help this woman because she didn't try to deny her sinful behavior—exactly the opposite of her accusers. When we, too, admit our sins and not live in denial, we can also experience God’s love, goodness and fairness—and forgiveness.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to admit my sins and faults and see the reasons behind my self-destructive behaviors ... and lead me to the help I need to overcome. Also, help me to understand the same for others who admit their sins and faults, and use me to be a part of the answer in helping to meet the unmet need in their life—the lack of which is driving them into acts of sin. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

Dear Reader, if you have never confessed your sins to God and received his loving acceptance and forgiveness, I encourage you to do this today. For help, Click HERE and be sure to read the article: “Godspell … God’s Good News.”

1. John 8:2-6 (NIV).
2. See John 8:1-11.

*NOTE: This article is adapted from I Hate WitnessingA Handbook for Effective Christian Communications, (c) by Dick Innes (2010 edition), pp. 166-167. Available at: www.actscom.com/store

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All articles on this website are written by
Richard (Dick) Innes unless otherwise stated.