Too Many Rocks

At one time or another, each of my three children picked up a rock and threw it at something or someone. Sometimes they tossed those rocks into a creek and watched as they sunk to the bottom of the rushing, tumbling water. Sometimes they stood gazing at the growing ripples created by throwing a rock into the still, calm water of a glassy lake. There were other times when my children would hurl rocks across an open field trying to peg a tree or a certain patch of grass. And often, my kids would line up tin cans and pitch rocks toward them as they competed to see who had the best aim. But every once in a while, the rock throwing veered from the innocent to the hurtful ... every once in a while, one of my children would get angry and throw a rock at one of their siblings or a friend. Yep, every once in a while, one of my children would throw a rock at someone they loved. And every single time they did, I would say, "Don't throw rocks at each other, guys ... you'll hurt someone."

My favorite book in the Bible is the book of John, and I have long been drawn to one story in particular. It's in John 8:3-11, and it's the recounting of the events that occurred when a woman who is caught committing adultery by the religious leaders is brought before Jesus. The law of the day dictated that the woman be stoned to death for what she had done, and the religious guys were trying to trap Jesus by asking Him what He would have them do with her. Jesus blew those sanctimonious religious guys away when He stooped over and wrote in the sand with His finger ... and yes, I'd love to know what He wrote. The holy guys kept questioning him until Jesus stood up and said, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Whoa. Those guys sure didn't expect that to be the way Jesus would answer, and one by one, they dropped the stones they were holding and walked away. The story concludes with Jesus telling the woman that He doesn't condemn her and instructing her to go and sin no more. It's a powerful story, and if you've never read it, you should. In fact, if you've read it a gazillion times, you should read it again.

We don't stone people to death here in the land of the free and the home of the brave when they don't fit the mold of what society dictates is correct behavior ... we don't even stone a person when he or she lives outside of what we would label the proper, normal or moral boundaries that have been set forth. Oh, no ... in modern society, we are much too civilized to pick up rocks and throw them at a person's head until they are wounded and bleeding. We would never even consider punishing a person by such a heinous and cruel action, would we? But we don't hesitate to find the largest boulder we can lift and throw it as hard as we possibly can at another's heart and soul ... we don't even blink an eye when it comes to obliterating the spirit of one whom we deem unworthy, unfit or different from us. We throw rock after rock after rock after rock ... we throw so many rocks that one can't help but wonder sometimes how anyone could survive the onslaught. Think about it, friends ... we throw rocks of condemnation, rocks of guilt, rocks of judgment, rocks of shame, rocks of hatred until we succeed in destroying one another.

I'm sure many of you can relate to this statement ... I've had one of those weeks where I've been on the receiving end of a bunch of thrown rocks. And as much as I hate to admit it, I've probably thrown a few back in return. I was thinking about it on my way home tonight, and one thought that crept into my mind caused my eyes to fill with tears and my heart to hurt deep within. We never know who will throw the rock that finally takes another person's life or robs them of their last shred of joy ... I don't know if I'm throwing the last rock that will ever hit the person I'm pitching it toward. The truth is that there will always come a point when it's the final rock, the last rock that a person can take, the rock that delivers the final blow that causes someone to say, "I can't take one more rock, not one more." When too many people throw too many rocks, more often than not, the person who's being stoned simply gives up and doesn't survive. And the thing that is perhaps the most sad to me is that once you throw that rock at another person's heart and soul, there's no taking it back or "un-throwing" it. And I say again ... you never know when you might be the one who throws the final rock.

Please forgive me, Father, for all the rocks I've thrown ... too many rocks, Lord, I've thrown way too many rocks. Clothe me with Your mighty armor and protect me from the rocks that others throw at me ... rescue me from the day when the rocks are too many. When there are just too many rocks, God, help me to trust in You to deliver me.