“But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.”

John 8:7-9 NAS

Let me ask you a question.  If you were to look at your fellowship through the eyes of a visitor, what would you see?  Would you see stiff and mechanical people, going through the familiar but phony motions of hand shaking and smiles?  Would you see the barely masked smirks and the thinly veiled sneers of people who want to be accepted but fear letting their guard down even for a moment?

The obvious point in the event described in John 8 was that the accusers were themselves as sinful as or worse than the accused.  It is quite possible that Jesus pointed that out by the things He wrote in the dirt.  Jesus was about forgiving the hurting and pointing out the sin of the prideful.

It is no coincidence that in John 8 Jesus offered forgiveness in the temple. Our fellowships must be places of healing.  Jesus offered healing wherever He found the hurting.  Shall we do anything less?