I've been thinking about that old saying:

"It's not what you know. It's who you know."

We usually say it when someone gets a job because they know the right person, or gets an opportunity because of a personal connection.

And we all understand how that works.

I can know everything about Elon Musk. I can read his biography, watch his interviews, study his companies, and follow him on X.

But none of that means I know him.

I know about him.

Now, if I actually knew him personally, that would be a completely different story.

The same goes for the CEO of a company I want to work for. I could know everything on their LinkedIn profile, but a personal relationship with them would open doors that all that information couldn't.

Because the favour isn't in the information.

The favour is in the relationship with the person. Grace.

And I've been realizing how much this applies to almost everything in life.

Especially now, in the age of AI.

For generations, we've built an economy around what people know.

You go to school, study, get a degree, maybe a PhD, and your knowledge sets you apart. People pay you because you know something they don't.

But now?

I have something that feels like a PhD in almost every discipline sitting in my pocket.

I can ask AI how to write code, start a business, understand a contract, learn a language, or solve a problem that would have required an expensive consultant just a few years ago.

And it's only getting better.

Suddenly, knowing a lot isn't quite the advantage it used to be.

Knowledge still matters, of course. But access to knowledge is becoming less and less scarce.

So what becomes valuable when everyone has access to the same information?

I think it's the person.

Their perspective. Their judgment. Their creativity. Their relationships. The unique way they see the world.

Not just what they know, but who they are.

And the funny thing is, I think it's always been this way.

We're just beginning to see it.

Which brings me to Jesus.

Imagine I asked two people to tell me about Jesus.

The first person gets up and says:

"Well, He was born of a virgin about 2,000 years ago. He performed miracles, taught the disciples, died on a cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day."

Wonderful.

All true. All important.

But that's His LinkedIn profile.

I want to know who He is.

Imagine another person gets up and says:

"Well, I was talking to Him this morning. I've been so busy lately, and I felt Him inviting me to slow down and just spend some time with Him.

"I was worried about a project I'm working on, and as I talked to Him about it, I began to see it differently.

"And then there were some responsibilities I hadn't followed up on, and I was getting stressed. I felt Him reminding me that yes, I needed to take care of them, but I didn't have to carry the anxiety alone.

"And there are some things I'm honestly afraid of. Things I don't know how to do. Things I don't even want to do.

"But I can tell Him that. I don't have to pretend.

"He's my friend."

Do you see the difference?

One person can tell me what Jesus did.

The other is telling me who Jesus is to them.

And I wonder how often we've confused the two.

We've become very good at teaching ourselves and our children Jesus' LinkedIn profile.

We teach the stories, the miracles, the commandments, the facts.

And those things matter. They really do.

But when was the last time you spoke to Him?

Not just read about Him.

Spoke to Him.

When was the last time you brought Him into a problem you were trying to solve, or a decision you were afraid to make?

When was the last time you just enjoyed being with Him?

Because I don't think Jesus came merely to give us more information about God.

He came to introduce us to His Father.

There's a moment in the wilderness where the devil tempts Jesus by quoting Scripture.

He takes words from Psalm 91 and tells Jesus to throw Himself down from the temple because God has promised that His angels will protect Him.

Think about that.

The devil knew the Scripture.

Jesus knew the Scripture.

Same words.

But they saw them completely differently.

Jesus wasn't simply responding with a better Bible verse. He knew the Father whose heart those words revealed.

And I find it fascinating that just before the wilderness, at His baptism, Jesus had heard His Father declare:

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Then the temptation comes:

"If You are the Son of God..."

Jesus knew who He was.

He knew whose He was.

And that changed how He understood everything.

The words mattered. But the relationship gave them meaning.

Knowledge in the hands of someone who knows the Father is different from knowledge in the hands of someone who doesn't.

And suddenly, I see that old saying everywhere.

In worship, it's not just about knowing the right songs or the right chords. It's knowing the One we're singing to.

In parenting, it's not just about teaching our children Bible stories. It's helping them know the God those stories reveal.

In business, it's not just about knowing all the strategies and techniques. It's about the perspective we bring, the people we serve, the relationships we build, and learning to work with God rather than simply for Him.

Even with the projects I'm working on, I'm beginning to see that I don't have to know how to do everything before I begin.

I can lean on Someone who knows me, loves me, and is willing to walk through it with me.

It's not what you know.

It's who you know.

And here's the part I really love:

That includes yourself.

Because as AI makes knowledge more accessible, I think we're going to be confronted with a question many of us have spent our whole lives avoiding.

Who am I, apart from what I know?

Apart from what I can do?

Apart from what I can produce, achieve, or prove?

What do I bring into the world that isn't simply a collection of information?

I think the answer begins with identity.

Knowing who you are. Knowing whose you are. And living from that place.

Maybe that's part of the gift hidden in this whole AI revolution. It's forcing us to reconsider what makes a person valuable.

And perhaps we'll discover that our value was never primarily in how much we knew.

It was always in who we were.

I want to come back to something, though.

Because I don't want us to turn knowing Jesus into another strategy for getting ahead.

As if He's just the most influential connection we could possibly have.

I mean something much more personal than that.

Do you know the Jesus you can call at three in the morning?

The Jesus who would come and get you when you've made another terrible decision and need someone to take you home?

The Jesus you can tell, "I'm afraid. I don't know what I'm doing. I don't even want to do this."

The Jesus who isn't shocked by your mess, intimidated by your questions, or waiting for you to impress Him before He welcomes you.

Not just the Jesus who died for you 2,000 years ago.

The Jesus who loves you right now.

Who wants to walk with you today.

Who wants to be known, not merely studied.

That Jesus.

That Jesus.

Do you know Him?