Ron Writes

Have you ever been misunderstood? Don’t you understand anything? Murphy’s law says that if you make something absolutely clear, someone will be confused. Human interaction is fraught with miscommunication. Some days seem to be filled with the frustration of clearing up misunderstandings. At times it seems that some want to misunderstand. I know you think you understand what I said, but what I said isn’t what I intended to say.

The dialogue in the upper room (Jn 13-17) appears to be driven by misunderstandings. Peter asks, “Lord, where are You going? Jesus answered, “Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.” Peter said, “Lord, why can I not follow you right now” (Jn. 13:26-27)? Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way” (Jn. 14:5)? Phillip doesn’t understand, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us” (Jn. 14:8). Judas (not Iscariot) asked, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world” (Jn. 14:22)? Some disciples were asking “What is this thing He is telling us” (Jn. 16:17)? And “What is this that He says…. We do not know what He is talking about” (Jn. 16:1)? John uses dialogue and these misunderstandings to teach us some of the most amazing truths from Jesus.

Sometimes you’re the windshield and sometimes you’re the bug. Sometimes we feel the frustration of Jesus and wonder why we have to be surrounded by those who just don’t get it. Why do people always seem to disappoint us? Unfortunately, most of us don’t have the patience of Jesus.

Then there are the times when we’re so dense, we just don’t get it. Jesus’ disciples were physically with Him for years, but they still didn’t always understand Him.

So what’s the lesson? Stop being so hard on yourself. Especially stop being so hard on others. Now, who doesn’t understand what I’m talking about?