Not what you know, but who you know?

I heard it said that it's not what you know, but who you know that counts. So here's a story about that. I recently went for a dinner with some colleagues - I got a last minute invite because a couple of people couldn't make it at the last minute!  So as I was leaving for the dinner appointment, I mentioned it to my wife, and she reminded me that we actually knew someone who worked there.  Just an ordinary lady who serves at the restaurant, who we became friends with and brought to church as part of my cell group outreach activities.  So I told my wife, yeah, I'll definitely say hi if I see her there.

So when I got there, she did happen to be working that night, and I said hi, and I even managed to get some extra dishes for free!  But boy were my colleagues impressed, because they'd been lining up for months to get a reservation at this restaurant, which was evidently super popular (neither Lynette nor I are foodies, so I guess we didn't understand the significance!).  But suddenly everyone wanted to be my friend :D  When I got back to work, I even had a couple of the bosses ask me about it, so I quickly made it clear that I wasn't about to ask for favours to cut the 6-month queue!

The very next day after the dinner, I was at a sports event with a whole bunch of colleagues, and after I finished the run, I was rushing off because I needed to be at my cell group dinner.  On the way out, I bumped into the guest of honour, who was being escorted by the bosses.  I happen to know the guest of honour - not besties, just long-time acquaintances, and so he said hi and we chatted for a while.  And it seemed to me that the bosses were rather impressed that I knew this important person too!  Probably even more so than the potential to cut queue at the restaurant :P

So - what's to be learned from this odd sequence of coincidences?  One day, people are impressed because I know someone who works in a restaurant, the very next day, they're impressed because I know a bigshot.  I guess one lesson to take out of this is that everyone is important in his or her own niche!

The other, quite possibly more important, is this - I happen to be reading through the book of Revelation as my daily devotion, and if there's one thing that's clear about Revelation, it's this - at the end of it all, it really is true that it's not what you know, but who you know, and even more importantly, who knows you that counts. And that person is not a boss, or some guy who can get you a good "lobang" for a meal or deal.  It's Jesus, who loves us more than we deserve.  Nothing we can do can make Him love us more.  And nothing that we've done can make Him close the door (So You Would Come - Hillsongs).

And when my wife and I finally meet Him, I suspect that He'll be happier that we know the ordinary lady and her lovely kids and brought her to church, than the bigshot who I really kind of only know in passing. Thank you Jesus that each day, through the little things that you arrange around me, you remind me that You are speaking to me, teaching me, moulding me into the person you need me to be.  Thank you for loving me so much!

Oh, and for those who have been reading the blog about PSLE etc etc, yes we collected the PSLE results yesterday, Nat did well, and we're happy for her - could she have done better, sure, but there are far more important things ahead, a door that's been opened by God Himself, and our job as Mummy and Daddy is to help her to be faithful in walking through it!

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