The Official Writing Challenge
BACK TO
CHALLENGE
MAIN
INSTRUCTIONS
how it works
submission rules
guidelines for
choosing a level
ENTRIES
submit your entry
read current entries
read past entries
challenge winners
Our Daily Devotional HERE
Place it on your site or
receive it daily by email.


TRUST JESUS TODAY

  • Share
  • how it works
  • Submit
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Teacher (10/26/06)
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

A hush fell over the crowd as several Pharisees dragged a frightened woman into the temple court. The men forced the woman to her knees in front of the crowd. Jesus winced at her whimpers of humiliation. Then, without a sound he stooped to the ground and wrote in the dust with his finger. The strange response of the teacher baffled the crowd and they began to murmur, “What is he doing?”

People waited for his answer. Some of them deftly tossed rocks into the air to see if the weight was enough for a stoning. Then they stood poised and ready to judge the woman for her sin of adultery.

The Pharisees impatiently demanded an answer from Jesus. “Teacher, what do you say?”

Jesus stood and faced the crowd. “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

A sudden sense of unease swept through the court. One by one, the woman's accusers dropped their stones and walked away. Before long, only Jesus and the woman remained.

Jesus helped her stand. “Woman, where are your accusers? Did even one of them condemn you?”

The woman looked around the empty court. Fear faded with a whisper, "No, Lord.”

His heart overflowed with joy, “Neither do I, Go and sin no more.”

Fully forgiven the woman walked away, leaving her shame behind.

Jesus examined the ground. “Thank you Father for teachable moments,” he prayed as the list of sins he had etched in the dust disappeared with the wind.

*Adapted from John 8:1-11.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
This article has been read 1677 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Donna Haug
11/02/06
I like how you tied your title in at the end. It's hard to make such a well known Bible story come alive. It'll be interesting the ask the Lord some day what exactly He did write in the dust.
Marilyn Schnepp 
11/05/06
Never tire of hearing bible stories; and this one was no exception. You made it come alive...and I loved the "dust in the wind" suggestion of what Jesus was writing. Very well done...kudos.
Jan Ackerson
11/06/06
This is so beautifully written--I love the added details like the hefting of the rocks into the air--I wish you'd done more of that! It really made the story freshly meaningful. Love the last paragraph.
Joanne Sher 
11/07/06
ALSO love the ending of this - great job retelling this so-well-known story with a freshness that makes it not so well-known!
Donna Powers
11/07/06
A very nice fresh look at a familiar story. Great ending! Thanks so much for sharing this.
Sara Harricharan
11/08/06
This was very inspiring, and a great job writing this. Loved the end best of all :)
Catrina Bradley
11/08/06
I enjoyed reading this familiar story from this persepctive, especially in light of a heated debate regarding the passage that's going on in another of my forums. I agree with Jan, I'd like to see more added details, especially as the story came to a close. The ones "hefting the stones" added flesh. Also loved what Jesus was writing in the dust!
Val Clark
11/09/06
Ditto Catrina's comments and Jan's. You've packed a lot into this. An engaging read. Yeggy