There are times in life we don’t understand what is going on.
We think we understand, but we couldn’t be further from the truth.
I was driving with Hailee from Mt. Pleasant back to Lansing when we were going to Central Michigan University.
There was a stretch of highway where the road speed limit went from 70 to 55 and 10 miles later went back up to 70 again.
It was rare to drive the speed limit.
Basically you had to go with the flow of traffic.
I am driving with the flow of traffic and we get to a car everyone is passing going about 50 in a 55.
As I pass the person I hear Hailee say something along the lines of, “Hot head.”
I didn’t know why Hailee had a hot head, so I rolled down her window.
She gave me a weird look and said, “Why did you roll down the window?”
I explained how she had a hot head.
She replied, “Joel, I said cop ahead.”
Oops.
I wasn’t driving super-fast and I wasn’t pulled over, but Hailee got the biggest kick out of me misinterpreting what was said.
We misinterpret what is said sometimes.
This often happens when Jesus talks to us about in parables.
Parables were stories Jesus taught that not everyone would understand, they had hidden meanings.
Jesus did this to see who would wait and come up to him later to find out what this meant.
Not everyone understood the message.
In Luke 20 9-19, he tells a parable about some evil tenants.
The man in charge of some land rented it to local farmers.
He sent a servant to collect some fruit from the tenants.
They beat him up and sent him home with nothing.
He sent another servant, same result.
Finally he sent his son.
They thought they would inherit the land if the son was dead, so they killed him.
Jesus told them that the owner would go back to the tenants and they would be punished severely for what they did.
The Pharisees understood what he did and this is what was said in verse 19…
“The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.”
Sometimes we understand the hidden meaning in stories and sometimes well…hot head.
We miss the saying.
Know this, no matter where you are in your life and what you are doing, Jesus loves you.
There is no hidden meaning behind that.
Jesus loves you and cares for you even when you feel nobody does.
There is no reason to ever feel alone, worthless or abandon, as long as you live Jesus wants a relationship with you.
This takes faith.
When you think nobody else knows what’s truly bothering you, Jesus does.
He cares for you and wants the best for you.
There is not hidden meaning behind that.
You can have a personal relationship with God, all it takes is faith.
There is still hope even when it feels like there is nothing left.
Jesus loves you.
Have a great day.
