Blindly accepting the religious status quo, inherited traditions, and hand-me-down beliefs traps many people in misunderstanding. The present-day power and reality of the risen Jesus is often buried under the weight of religious misunderstanding.

It’s no fun to be misunderstood. But that’s the cost of continually listening to and obeying Jesus. If you aren’t being frequently misunderstood, there’s a strong possibility that your Christianity is off track.

Misunderstanding is much easier to live with than truth is. People misunderstand Christianity because to understand it is to be thrown out of your comfort zone into God’s radical truth and transformation zone.

Much religion is based on misunderstanding. Jesus promises inner rivers of living water. To settle for an illusion of water glimmering on the pavement of your hardened heart is to misunderstand Christianity.

The more we obey Jesus and faithfully do what He says, the better we will understand Christianity. (John 8:31-32) If you have never personally read and pondered with an open, humble, obedient heart the parts of the Bible written by the earliest Christ-followers, you most probably misunderstand Christianity.

If you want to understand Christianity, humbly contemplate, meditate, ponder, and listen to and obey God’s still small voice in your heart. Read the New Testament as though it is a love letter from God to you. It is.

Go beyond information processing to revelation accessing. Allow God to open your eyes until you clearly behold Jesus. Then you won’t feel the need to merrely analyze theology. Show consistent, warm-hearted kindness to all people (both friends and foes). Then you will begin to truly understand God’s love.