Misunderstandings

 

Did you hear about the homeless man who was looking for food? He went into a nice neighborhood on the good side of town and approached the first house he saw. He rang the doorbell, and in a few minutes the owner of the house opened the door. 

 

The poor man introduced himself and explained that he had fallen on hard times. He asked the affluent man if there was any way he could spare a few dollars, or maybe a bite to eat. The homeowner said that he is a believer in honest work, and told the man that he had been meaning to paint his porch for quite a while. “If you paint my porch, you can come inside and I’ll serve you a hot meal.” 

 

Not half an hour later the beggar walked right in through the front door and announced he was finished and ready to eat. Surprised that he was finished so quickly, the rich man told him to have a seat at the table while he finished preparing lunch. It was then that the homeless man dropped this bombshell: “By the way mister, you really need to learn your cars. You don’t drive a Porsche, but I painted your BMW.” 

 

We can get in real trouble if we do not understand something. In Scripture we see far too many people who misunderstood Jesus and His mission. For some, they had expectations that when the Messiah came, He would come as a conquering general or a ruling king. When Jesus did not launch an assault against the Roman government, people decided Jesus must not be the Messiah after all. For others, they wrongly viewed Jesus as someone who minimized their laws and traditions, even though Jesus said He came to fulfill the law, not destroy it. 

 

Today we can make a similar mistake if we misunderstand Jesus. Part of the problem is due to our misunderstanding of the Bible. We may develop the wrong idea that nothing bad is ever supposed to happen to a believer, or even go so far as to expect nothing but material and physical blessings from God if we truly believe.

 

Jesus said “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world (John 16:33).” Many misunderstand this verse (and others) to say that only good things are in store for us in this life, but they overlook the clear part that promises tribulations as long as we live in this world. People walk away from the church the second something bad happens, deciding that Christianity must not be real. Don’t let this, and similar misunderstandings, keep you from God. That would be as foolish as painting a car instead of a porch. We need to study the Word so that we do not fall victim to these misunderstandings.