From That Hour
“She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. And the woman glorified God from that hour, and believed on his name.” (JST John 8:11). I like to imagine that after the woman was told to go, and sin no more, she took a few steps, and then, like the one out of the ten lepers that were cleansed, she “turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on [her] face at his feet, giving him thanks” (Luke 17:15-16). This woman took to heart the Savior's command to go, and sin no more, and she started immediately. Christ had forgiven her. To continue clinging to her misery and to continue labeling herself as a sinner or an adulterer would be to continue sinning. She had already been brought before Christ for judgement, and Christ did not condemn her. To continue to wallow in self pity and to hold herself back from doing good and glorifying God would be a sin. It's not to say that this particular woman wouldn't face certain long-term consequences or challenges from her actions, but the moment that she decided to go and sin no more is the moment that she stopped thinking of herself as the adulterous woman and started thinking of herself as the forgiven woman. We don't have to observe some kind of minimum sentence of misery and shame and self flagellation before we are allowed to accept our Savior's forgiveness. We can from the very hour, even the very minute that we are forgiven choose to glorify God through our good works and through the joy and relief that comes from a soul unburdened by sin. To commit any kind of sin is terrible, but to deny the power of Christ’s Atonement and hold tight to our identity as a worthless sinner who deserves to be stoned to death is to stop all progress and continue sinning. Christ suffered once for our sins. It is cruel to force Him to suffer with us over and over as we delay our repentance and prolong our misery. Let us all repent swiftly when we have sinned and embrace immediately the forgiveness that He offers and from that hour begin once more to glorify God and believe on His name.
