” He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone“… John 8:7
It is a familiar quote from the Bible, and like so many other aspects of the Bible, it has a multi-layered meaning. And like so many other quotes from the Bible, mankind has embraced only the most obvious interpretation, without recognizing the deeper implications.
Certainly, the obvious lesson cautions us not to be too quick to judge others unless we are free from fault ourselves. Even a cursory reflection would tell us that we are far from faultless. Perhaps being quick to judge is a sin in itself.
To make matters worse, it would appear that being free of sin is an impossible task. Another Bible quote – Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” – is a pretty blunt reminder. Yet, most of us would probably judge our guilt on a human scale. Haven’t robbed a bank, committed adultery, or committed murder? Sounds like your sin score is pretty low. Does that mean our judgment of others is more acceptable?
That’s where a deeper understanding of these verses comes in. While we might rate our transgressions on a sin score, that phrase, “all have sinned” casts a pretty wide net. At that juncture, we need to re-examine our understanding of what constitutes sin. More importantly, what does it mean to “come short of the glory of God?”
The complexities of the Bible mean that it is subject to re-interpretation based on contemporary language, the accumulated wisdom of Bible scholars, and advances in science in the years since those texts were originally penned. In addition, today’s technology allows individual experiences to be shared and compared when those experiences address faith or an understanding of the spirit realm.
The most conspicuous example is the similarities between narratives of those who have reported an NDE (near-death experience). Many of those having such an experience report a sensation of unconditional love. When we merge these experiences with a message from the Bible, the puzzle starts to resolve itself. When we compare the verse found in 1 John 4:16 (“God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them“) with the reference about all falling short of the glory of God, it begins to become clear – sin is any thought, word or action that is contrary to the acts of love. If we examine the Ten Commandments through this lens, we can see that each commandment is built on a foundation of love being the ideal behavior.
Once we make this connection, we can begin to recognize that everything in the Bible revolves around love, and the consequence to each of us is that, any act or thought that we have that is not directly supportive of love is a sin. Since we all go through our lives acting in a self-centered manner, we are all guilty of a multitude of sins, regardless of how we categorize or rate them. We all fall short of the glory of God.
None of us should be picking up those stones anytime soon.