It’s not about whether you know (about) Christ generally, it’s about whether Christ knows you personally.

Unless you were born and raised on the planet “Meepzorp,” you have somewhere, somehow heard of Jesus Christ. You “know” him or “know of” him in that sense.

But the real question is, does He know you? I’m not referring to His omniscient knowledge of all things, but personally — does He personally “know” you by name?

This latter sense is “mission critical” to your eternal destiny and is the key that unlocks the gates of Heaven for you.

To illustrate: 

Suppose I tried strutting into the White House, telling the Secret Service guys, “It’s OK guys, I know (of) President Joe Biden.” How far do you think I’d get?

But suppose Biden heard the commotion caused by my intrusion, and said to His minders, “It’s OK guys, I know Don,” and waved me in.

Now, that’s a different story. What mattered was Biden’s personal acquaintance with me, not my arms-length knowledge of him.

Applying this illustration to our relationship with Christ, Jesus once said, in John 10:14-15, “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”

The key phrase, “I know My own” speaks of familiarity, intimacy, tenderness and protection, “I lay down My life for the sheep.”

Another time, in Luke 12:6-8, Jesus declared, “… even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.”

But then, He added a condition, “Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God.”

The Old Testament is full of declarations of God’s intimate acquaintanceship with His faithful children.

Here is just one example, from Psalm 139:1-6,17-18:

“Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thought from far away.
You scrutinize path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You know it all.
You have encircled me behind and in front,
And placed Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it …

… How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.”

Conditions apply. These promises are only for those who have placed their faith and confidence in Jesus as their Lord and Savior — intentional, conscious acts of willful commitment.

Dallas Theological Seminary founder L.S. Chafer wrote, “Saving faith is a matter of personal consciousness. ‘I know whom I have believed.’ To have deposited one’s eternal welfare in the hands of another is a decision of the mind so definite that it can hardly be confused with anything else. On the deposit of oneself into His saving grace depends one’s eternal destiny.”

Jesus warned in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

I can only imagine.

It always thrills me when people remember my name. It means that they care enough about me to commit my actual given name to memory — none of this one-size-fits-all stuff like, “buddy,” “dude,” “you two,” or “guys.”

So, imagine what a thrill it must have been for Mary Magdalene to hear her name spoken from the lips of her Savior, the resurrected Christ, on that glorious Sunday morning 2,000 years ago. 

As written in John 20:15-17, “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’ Thinking that He was the gardener, she said to Him, ‘Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means, Teacher) …’”

Wow, they knew each other! I can only imagine what it will be like when I get to Heaven and hear my name, “Don” spoken from the lips of my Savior, Jesus.

How About You?

Are you on a first name basis with Jesus? If not, why not?

As written in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”