Re-introductions

He stuck out his hand as a smile crossed his familiar face. "Hi, I'm Mike."

I knew that, of course. I've known Mike for over twenty years. My wife used to attend his church when she stayed with her grandmother during the summers. In fact, Mike officiated at Grandma's funeral. Oh, it has been a couple months since we've seen each other. I've started combing my hair differently to cover my nagging receding hairline. I shaved my beard. I lost 135 pounds. Other than that, I'm the same guy, so why didn't he recognize me?

When I stuck my hand out and said, "Frank Weller, nice to meet you, Mike," he let out an embarrassed laugh.

It's funny how you can know someone for so long yet fail to recognize them.

I sometimes do that with Jesus.

I've known Him since 1976, but there are still times when I fail to recognize His hand at work. There are occasions when I don't see what is obvious to others. I wonder why that is. Perhaps it is because I'm just not as familiar with Him as I ought to be. Maybe it is because the interval between the times we connect becomes to lengthy. Perhaps it's just because I'm not looking.

Whatever the reason, I clearly need to pay more attention. Do you?