Refuse to Accuse

Have you ever been falsely accused of doing wrong?  As I circled a roundabout today, I was emphatically flipped off by a woman with so fierce a glare I could only laugh.  I entered into the roundabout with my right indicator on, planning on performing a u-turn.  The woman was on the opposite side on the outer lane and must have expected me to go straight through because halfway through my turn she entered the far left lane.  Seeing me directly next to her as we slowly turned, she did her best to insult me for her own blunder for not giving way.

I have to admit I was a little confused by her response.  A part of me that wanted to be angry, and another part that thought the whole thing was ridiculous.  But it made me think about false accusations and how bad they can make us feel.  I thought about how Jesus was brought before Caiaphas and falsely accused as being a blasphemer.  How ironic that the Righteous One was falsely slandered and maligned by wicked men under the guise of justice and honoring God!  The irony did not insulate Christ from the pain.  It amazes me to consider that God never accuses people.  Accusations can be true or false and are often spawned through distrust with incomplete information.  God makes righteous judgments based upon complete, perfect knowledge and wisdom.  Instead of threatening, God warns.

Both man and Satan are highly skilled in the art of accusation and threats.  A woman caught in the act of adultery was once brought before Jesus.  The scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus what should be done with her:  if Jesus ordered her death it would be illegal according to Roman law, and if He said to let her live He would be in violation of the Law of Moses.  I'm sure they wondered how Jesus could possibly reconcile this difficult position.  But Jesus said, "Whoever is without sin, let him throw the first stone."  One by one the accusers left and John 8:10-11 says, "When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" ¹¹ She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  Jesus could have hurled accusations because He was a man or threw stones at the woman because He was God incarnate.  But instead He offered words of comfort and an exhortation to live righteously.  Though being a man, Jesus acted opposite from men because He is also God.  Accusations come from a position of weakness, not strength.

Zechariah 3:1 shows us an interesting picture of a spiritual reality:  "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him." (NIV)  In another insightful passage, Revelation 12:10, this role Satan plays in opposing the children of God is revealed:  "Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.'"  Though Satan may accuse us, his toothless words can never undo the atoning work of Christ's precious blood.  God will never hearken to the accusations of the enemy of our souls.  The great danger is Christians can be deceived to take his poisonous words to heart.  Praise God that we have a Redeemer and Advocate in Jesus Christ, who is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness according to His merit!

When we are falsely accused without cause, we can in that moment share in the sufferings of Christ.  It is in that place of identification where our appreciation of our Savior grows and flourishes.  Thank God for such a Savior who in all points was tempted, yet remained without sin!  Instead of accusing others, let us offer the grace of God.  God's love is what this sinning world is dying for.