The Importance of Context

Well I have been away from the computer for the weekend. I have enjoyed reading your comments and look forward hearing from you often. I was ministering to the saints in Arcadia LA this weekend. We had a great time of ministry and fellowship.

I ministered the word Friday and Saturday night. On Friday I started with a statement about how the context where something is spoken effects the meaning of what is said. You can say the same words in different settings and they can have totally different meanings. I used an example I had used many times to help understand this in a practical way. I will repeat it here for this discussion.

Suppose I am in a city that I have not been in before and as I am walking I don't understand the way of the traffic as I cross a busy intersection. Long story short I J-walk and a policeman looks at me sternly and says, 'Come here!' Well everyone knows what that means. So after talking to the policeman and receiving my lecture on the dangers of J-walking I continue on my way.

As I walk away from the incident with the police I pass a dark alley and from the shadows I hear a voice that eerily says " Come here". When I hear these words, the same ones the policeman used, I don't know exactly what to do. One thing I do know is that going into the shadows to see what 'come hear' means is not an option I am considering. So I run.

I finally return to the motel where Ranae and I are staying and as I enter into the room out of breath, Ranae ask what is wrong. I tell her about my encounter with the strange voice. We both agree how weird that was and how good it was that I ran away. Soon after the end of this conversation she raises her one eyebrow and motions to me and says , 'Come here!'. Now we know what that means!!! She wants a kiss from me.

Now here we see the exact same words are used but in different settings or contexts and those settings effected the meaning of the words. That is the way it is as we communicate with people and as God communicates with us. If we don't consider the context, we might hear accurately but miss the true meaning of the message. Here is another contributor to miscommunication that causes problems.

There was another part of this teaching which I will write about next time. God bless all who visit here and I hope as we consider these points we will hear and discern more accurately. This will profit us in our personal relationships and our relationship with God. Bless you ! Mitch