What’s On My Face?

“Look in my face; my name is Might-have-been; 

I am also call'd No-more, Too-late, Farewell” 

― Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The House of

When you look into my face, what do you see? Do you see opportunity? Do you see disappointment? Do you see what could be or regret? What do you see? There are two kinds of people in the world, those who see moments as opportunities to reach out to others, and those who see moments in relationship to their own self-interest.

Russell approached me one day, this is when we lived in Houston the first time. He had been trying to talk to me after church for some time, but was just now getting up the confidence.“Pastor,” he began. “I was wondering if you would like to come over and watch basketball?”

My shoulders must have dropped visibly, or maybe it was the look on my face, but he shot back, “if you don’t want to that’s alright.”

Russell was a nice guy, but spending an evening watching basketball was not my idea of having fun. Nothing interested me about ten guys running back and forth making shots with little to no effort. It wasn’t my thing. I looked at Russell, and then it hit me. He wasn’t asking me to watch basketball, Russell wanted to spend time with me. Basketball was just the excuse.

Too often we miss opportunities to develop deep and meaningful relationships because we get caught up in the medium and not the person. How many times have you turned down an opportunity because it “wasn’t your thing”? You don’t have to accept every invitation, but let’s no miss out on opportunities, because we miss the real reason we are being asked. “So then, as we have the opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” Galatians 6:10.  I’m just saying…