“Come in, come in and know me better man!” (Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol) This line, spoken to Ebenezer Scrooge by the Ghost of Christmas Present, has always fascinated me. In the story, this ghost has come to show Scrooge how other people celebrate Christmas and what other people think about him, behind his back. By getting to know the Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge is finally able to truly understand himself. This better understanding of himself, not his better understanding of the Ghost of Christmas Present, is the point of the relationship. Yet, the only way that Scrooge could gain this better understanding of himself was to get to know the Ghost of Christmas Present better. Through this relationship, Scrooge was able to experience himself through the eyes of others. It was through Scrooge’s deeper, more intimate relationship with the Ghost of Christmas Present that he was able to truly understand himself. In other words, it was only through this relationship that Scrooge was able to accurately identify who he was. Getting to know the Ghost of Christmas Present better (man!) opened up the door for Scrooge to know himself better (man!)
Why does this tiny piece of a much larger classic story fascinate me so much? Because it gives me a glimpse into my relationship with God. God desires that we all “Come in, come in and know me better man!” The question that we must now ask is why? Does God want all of us to know him better, so that we can pass some kind of spiritual aptitude test? Does God want all of us to know him better, so that we can impress our friends? Does God want us to know him better, so that we can be better Christians? Or does God want us to know him better, so that we can all better know ourselves?
The only way that you and I will ever be able to truly know ourselves better, is by getting to know God better (man!) Through getting to know God better, we will see ourselves through God’s eyes. And since God’s eyes are the very eyes of the one who created us, what better eyes by which to see ourselves? God desires for you to know him better (man!) so that God can introduce you to yourself. This introduction to yourself, to who you are, is what is known as salvation. You might think that salvation is being saved from sin and death. That it is, but how does that happen? It happens because in getting to know God better (man!) you truly discover your very own identity in God. You become the person who God created you to be. Living into this creation, who you are in God, is the salvation that Paul talks about in 1 Timothy 2:4 “Who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”. God wants you to know who you truly are. The only way that you will ever truly know who you are, is to get to know God better (man!) So, get to know God better (man!) so that you can come to the knowledge of the truth of who you are.
Now, once you have that truth, you still have a choice to make. Ebenezer could have gotten out of bed, that following Christmas morning, and continued to live his Scroogey life. But, he had seen the light. He had seen who he was created to be. He had seen the possibility of a new life, lived in a new way, as a new person. This possibility led Ebenezer to realize that he didn’t like his current self. He wanted to make a change. He made the decision to repent, to turn around and head in the opposite direction. And that made all the difference in the world. For Scrooge finally started living out his God-given identity. He started to be who God had always intended him to be. In living out this being, Scrooge was saved.