Scarlet To White

Focus Scriptures: John 8:1 -11, Isaiah 1:18, 1 Peter 4:8

I remember hearing all about the fictional book, The Scarlet Letter, in high school. A woman having an affair, conceiving a child from it, forced to wear a scarlet colored “A” that stood for adultery, and cast out and publicly scrutinized. No grace. No love given. Nothing. In no way am I condoning adultery, however imagine going through something like that and having to wear your “scarlet letter” for all to see and know what you’ve done. Sheesh. Maybe even some of us have in some way or form and it left a scarlet blemish. I know I have.

But Jesus is different. His love doesn’t expose, it covers. He turns our scarlet to white as snow. It says so in His word. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." 

In a different but true story Jesus is brought a woman that was caught in the act of adultery. There’s no real background on the woman. We don’t know how long the affair had been going on or with whom. We don’t know any history about her. All we know is these people had two intentions- to stone her and to set up Jesus to say the wrong thing. They succeeded at none.

The Law said she should be punished. The Law said she should pay with her life by stoning. She was put on trial, so to speak, and I can only imagine the shame and humiliation she must have felt. Believing that these were her last moments of life. However, Jesus came to save and heal and restore and deliver, and that’s exactly what He did with her. He cleverly tells them that whoever is without sin to cast the first stone. But there were none that could. So one by one they leave and He turns to the woman and says, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” And when she says no He says, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” 

In one loving move Jesus removes her scarlet. He removes that red stained sin in her life and makes her white as snow. Just as He continues to do for us. All of our lives at one point are stained with that scarlet red. And I’m sure there are some that would love to see it exposed publicly for all to see. Something that in the human eye seems like the worst. But Jesus doesn’t weigh our wrongs against another. He is only concerned with restoring us back to him. Marking us with the only red that makes us white…His blood.

Do we know the woman’s “thereafter”? No. But I know she would have never forgotten what Jesus did for her. We don’t even know what our “thereafters” will look like. However, Jesus is there after to help keep us white in the midst of all the scarlet.

As always,

Be Pretty, Be You

You are loved more than you know.