Why the Misunderstanding??

In a distant place, long ago I preached a sermon and immediately afterward was approached by one of the leading women of the church with a big hug and compliments. She emphasized the importance and timeliness of my sermon topic and the content of my sermon. Yet, the longer she talked, the more I wondered....

I thanked her and then greeted other folks as they exited. I probably seemed distracted because I was distracted. I kept wondering, “What sermon was she talking about?” Her complimentary remarks simply did not match what I thought I had preached that day.

Communication is difficult even under the best circumstances. Sometimes the listener is distracted or does not hear accurately. Sometimes the speaker is a dud or uses unfamiliar or awkward terminology. Sometimes a speaker and listener use the same words, yet with different shades of meaning based on each one’s background. Sometimes one person assumes that the other knows something they don’t know. Sometimes….

Sometimes I marvel that humans can communicate at all. Conveying meaning accurately is a challenge. Yet, we all want to be understood, and that includes God.

Among other things, we call it God’s word, The Word, or Scripture. A somewhat recent Bible paraphrase is entitled, The Message. All these describe the collection of written documents that make up the Bible, a message from God to created man. Even so, these descriptive phrases and titles may give different impressions as to the contents of the Bible.

Many people want to know God, or in our day, experience God. Some turn to the Bible but feel that they are missing something. They find it difficult to understand and come away with the impression that God is distant.

Something that has often been overlooked is that the Bible is God’s revelation about Himself. It is not merely a law book, history book, poetry book, song book, or a spiritual guide. Although those are descriptive of different parts of the Bible, it is God’s communication to man in which He revealed to man Himself and His intentions and His expectations.

God understands that communication is difficult because He created man and He knows the shortcomings of man. So, He communicated:

Verbally through direct communication, including angels, prophets, visions and dreams.

In written form through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

But ultimately in human form, in the man Jesus of Nazareth who was His only begotten Son. Jesus revealed God through His teachings but also through His personal behavior and through the way He lived and interacted with mankind.

Even so there have always been those who misunderstood God’s message. But why the misunderstanding!?

There are three things that stand in the way of God’s clear and accurate communication of Himself to mankind:

YOU
     Your attitude
          Your desires.

Do you have difficulty understanding God’s word? It might be that YOU are in the way and need to step aside for once and simply listen to God!


Mark Stinnett

November 23, 2025