Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 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. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” – John 8:1-11

Alabama police Officer William Stacy got a call much like many calls he had received in his career. A woman had been caught shoplifting. He was expected to be the hand of justice.

At the scene, he met the accused: a grandmother whose welfare check was delayed, leaving her and her two grandchildren without food for two days. The grandmother, Helen Johnson, was shaken. She had gone to the store with $1.25, which she intended to use to buy a carton of eggs, but she had come up 50 cents short. Desperate, she had stuffed some eggs in her pocket. The eggs broke and dripped through. She was caught.

Officer Stacy had been to Helen Johnson’s home before and had seen the family sleeping on mattresses strewn across the floor. He knew she had not exaggerated the extent of her poverty. Looking in her eyes, he saw her brokenness and desperation. In his compassion, he bought a dozen eggs for her and hugged her. Helen Johnson asked how she could repay him. He asked her never to shoplift again.

“As it turned out, he was just one of God’s angels,” Helen Johnson said. “He came to my rescue, and he helped me and my family.”

A bystander videoed the exchange on his cellphone, and the video went viral. This simple act did more than show mercy to an impoverished woman. It became a healing balm in a time of strained race relations and resulting bad publicity for law enforcement.

The story could end there, but it doesn’t. Officer Stacy and his department began to field calls from all over the country from people who wanted to see Helen’s family through the Christmas season. So many calls were coming in to the station that an extra dispatcher had to be brought in to answer them.

Overwhelmed with donations, Officer Stacy and some colleagues delivered two truckloads of food to Helen Johnson’s home. Helen Johnson was overjoyed. She had never seen so much food in her tiny home since she was a little girl. She and Officer Stacy again embraced.

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. – 2 Corinthians 5:8

I don’t know if Officer Stacy knows Jesus as his Savior, though I suspect he does. Regardless, his compassion is a powerful reminder of what we as Christians are called to be and do.

Jesus came not to condemn the world but to reconcile the world to Himself. Our mission is to ambassadors of reconciliation. Show grace so that redemption may go viral.