I was having coffee and reading at Panera’s when a young couple took the table next to mine. The man was eating a sandwich while the woman checked her text messages, occasionally sharing with the man some item she found.

            Although I was interested in my book, I was suddenly jolted when the woman held up her phone and announced to the man that, “Steve is going to have a girlfriend by Friday.” The man just grunted between bites of the turkey-bacon sandwich. I went back to reading.

            But the overheard line from this woman bounced around my head. How can someone proclaim on Tuesday that he would have a girlfriend by Friday? Is this man so irresistible that he can attract anyone he wants? And is it the same to say that having a lady friend at some gathering on Friday is, in fact, a girl friend?

            In truth, Steve’s dating plan doesn’t matter to me. What is important is that hearing just one line in a conversation can be confusing. Knowing only a little about a situation or a person does not mean that we really know anything at all. Truly knowing someone, like being known by someone, is much deeper than having just a bit of information.

“I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me.”

John 10:14