Jesus Wrote on the ground (John 8:6)

This is a very heartwarming story of Jesus who loves sinners (a woman caught in adultery). Jesus does not condemn anyone.

In the 4th Gospel, we read in Chapter 8:6-7, " But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

The Bible does not reveal what Jesus wrote on the ground, but I remember someone once told me that most probably Jesus wrote about the sins of the world - pride, lies, unkindness etc. When the people who wanted to trap Jesus saw those words, they were somehow ashamed and left, one by one. This may be credited to the words Jesus spoke 'if any one of you is without sin'.

But as I read this passage this morning, somehow I think that Jesus being a person full of love and compassion, did not write about sins. I imagined Jesus writing words of affirmation, of love, of comfort, of encouragement, of forgiveness etc. Jesus might have written :
Forgiveness Love Compassion Tolerance Acceptance Peace Kindness

I believe these words would have left a mark on the people's hearts too! When I want to teach my sons about being generous to the poor, I don't remind them of their wastefulness or carelessness in spending, instead I encourage them to give by saying how much joy we get when we give etc.

Lesson learned: The Holy Spirit will convict us of our sins and faults in different ways. Sometimes He is so gentle and patient that we miss His lessons!