I Know Him!

In the movie "Elf" , Buddy, played by Will Ferrell, is working in the toy department at Gimbels when the manager announces that Santa is coming tomorrow. Buddy loses his mind. He jumps, he screams, and then out comes the line: "I know him!"

Everyone else in that store heard a scheduling announcement. Buddy heard the name of an admired friend.

I thought about that scene this week after a phone call. A text came in from one of our top referral partners in Baltimore, asking if I had time for a quick call about Andrew, one of our teammates. I'll be honest, a text like that can go either way, so I called her right back.

For seven minutes I mostly just listened. She told me she started working with Andrew because another lender couldn't get something done, and he did. She said her life has never been the same. He picks up the phone. He's always on it. Then she went right past business. They've become friends. She cares about him like she would her own son. He's the only one she uses now. She loves working with him and she loves Churchill Mortgage.

This is a Realtor with 83 transactions so far this year. Every lender in Baltimore would love her business. And when Andrew's name comes up, she's Buddy in the toy department. I know him!

That didn't come from a rate sheet or a marketing flyer. It came from being known.

Near the end of his life, the apostle John was exiled to Patmos, a rocky island where Rome sent people it wanted silenced. There he was given a vision of heaven. Four angels stand ready to turn judgment loose on the earth, and then another angel shouts for everything to stop:

In the first century everyone understood a seal. A king pressed his signet ring into wax and the message was clear. This one is mine. Don't touch.

Read that again with Buddy in mind. All of heaven is put on hold so God can walk through the crowd and mark his own. And notice that John hears a number. Not "a bunch." Not "roughly." They are counted, one by one, because each one is known. That is God pointing at you and saying, I know him. I know her. That one is mine.

What gets me is that He felt that way about us first. Jesus told his disciples he no longer called them servants, but friends (John 15:15). He knows you. Every thought. Every dumb thing you've ever done or said and adores you anyway. And he isn't content to be the only one in the relationship doing the knowing. It's not a one way love affair. He wants you to know him. A few verses later, the crowd around the throne is shouting with a great roar. People who know they are known can't stay quiet about it.

When your name comes up, does anyone light up? When Jesus' name comes up, do you? Would anyone looking at your life see his mark on it?

At work: Pick one referral partner this week and invest in the friendship, not the transaction. Return the call fast. Learn their story. Serve them with honor and gratitude until hearing your name makes their day. Remember, friends help friends.

At home: Don't just co-exist with your spouse, your kids and your friends. Study them. Spend unhurried time with them. And be vulnerable enough that they truly know you too. Shout with irrational joy when you see them.

With your faith: Open His Word tomorrow morning the way you'd sit down with a friend, not to check a box, but to know Him.

God knows you completely and calls you friend anyway. Relationships aren't transactions, including the one you have with Him. Beg Him to put His mark on you where everyone can see it. Be sure you are on the list! Get to know the people He's given you and know them so well (and let them know you) that when they hear your name, they can't help but shout I know him !!!!