Divine Expectation

Jesus bent down and scribbled in the sand.
"Let the one who is without sin among you cast the first stone."
One by one, the community's supposedly upstanding men trailed off until only Jesus and the woman remained--only those two, and His sacred scribbling.
Did Jesus scribble the specific sexual sins of the men looking on?
Did Jesus draw a line in the sand, silently daring even one sin-stained man to boldly cross it, stone in hand?
Did he write in a secret code only the woman caught in adultery was able to decipher, perhaps some words of comfort like, "Don't worry. I'll protect you"?
Or was He killing time, making the woman and her accusers squirm with discomfort for a few minutes before He spoke the words that would set her free?
"The men are gone," Jesus said to the disgraced woman, when the stones of condemnation had been dropped into a pile at their feet and the coast was clear. "I won't accuse you, either."
Of course, He could have accused her and left it at that. He deserved to, since He had committed no sin Himself and had all the stones in the world at His disposal.
But His unconditional love for her demanded more of Him than just that He avoid accusing her or judging her. His unconditional love required that He equip and expect her--in her newly forgiven state--to change.
"Go, and sin no more."
There's a difference between lack of accusation and expectation of change, a fine-tuned note of grace that deliniates one from the other. I believe the difference is unconditional love.
What if Jesus had turned to the woman and said, "Looks like this is your lucky day. I got those dudes to back off, didn't I? Go do your thing, and I'll go do Mine."
In order for her to make the changes in her life that she so desperately needed, He held her to a higher standard than she would have ever held herself. When He said Sin no more, she received the grace to obey. And with that grace, she truly understood His unconditional love.She didn't have to be perfect to receive His love, but once she experienced it, there was no way to remain unchanged.

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