Don’t you just hate being misunderstood?  It is probably one of the things that I have feared most in my life.  Misunderstanding of my words, my motives, my actions.  But, let’s be honest.  In a broken world with all of us broken people, it is pretty much inevitable.

I love that Jesus can relate to that.  He was the perfect Son of God, and yet He was still severely misunderstood.  His words, His actions and His motives.  Wow.  Just like me.  There is something so comforting in that thought.

Today I was reading in John chapter 7 (yes, I am still in John!).  Jesus was purposely avoiding Judea because they were waiting for Him there to take His life, and He knew it wasn’t the right time yet.  Listen to what His own brothers say to Him:  “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.  No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.  Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”  And the next verse says, “For even his own brothers did not believe in him.”

They didn’t understand Him.  They misunderstood Him, thinking that His MOTIVE in doing all that He was doing was for His own benefit and to honor Himself.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  He came for the glory of God and for OUR benefit.  And everything that He said and did was from that frame of reference.  His own family didn’t get it.

When He did head to Judea later, He stayed out of view.  And still, He heard the whispers of others saying, “He deceives the people.”  This, about the One who came to bring nothing but truth to the people.   Later they say that He is demon-possessed.  The One who came to defeat Satan and drove demons out of people.

Throughout John, we see where the religious leaders questioned his ACTIONS when He would heal on the Sabbath.  They chose to believe what they wanted about Him rather than the truth.

Time and time again His own disciples misunderstood Him, particularly His WORDS.  They didn’t understand, sometimes, the authority with which He spoke or the analogies that He drew and would, at times, draw their own conclusions.  Again, Jesus being misunderstood.

It helps to know that Jesus is in this same boat with me.  But here is His antidote for this dilemma.  “He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.”  He knew His purpose – to “honor the one who sent Him”.  He knew that His words were not to bring honor to Himself and He knew that His words were truth.

If I live by that example, then it doesn’t really matter if I’m misunderstood.  Yeah, it might hurt a bit.  But if my goal is honor God and not myself, then it doesn’t really matter what other people think of me.  It doesn’t change my goal one bit.

May my words (written and spoken), my motives and my actions be only to “honor the One who sent” me.  May my directions for all that I do be from Him and then may I leave the question of whether I am understood or misunderstood up to Him.  May my own ego and pride never get in the way of His glory… ever.