“(This weekend’s experience) brought a sense of wholeness. Not Arrival, but wholeness. The picture of my Father taking the hill with me, dirty, bruised, yelling, powerful… the truth that my heavenly Father is not afraid of my messes, my mistakes, and my journey that is less than perfect! That is wholeness to embrace.
”
"I've come to bring you home" -God
This is the simple, breathtaking invitation that inspires stories like The Martian, Saving Private Ryan, The Legend of Baggar Vance, and so many more. They address the question of the soul's worth by wrapping a story around the questions we all hide down deep: Am I loved? Am I worth rescuing? Will anyone come to save me?
Of all the mission statements Jesus gave for the purpose of his life, this is arguably the most helpful and comprehensive:
“I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!
”
Jesus, the Savior of the world, is deflecting ALL attention from Himself to the Father. His mission from God was entirely about orchestrating our re-union with the Father, providing not only the road, but also the much needed truth about Him, and a living example of the powerful life available to a man who walks in union with Him. Jesus is leading us home to the place where salvation is but the doorway to our much needed healing, wholeness, joy, purpose, identity, calling...Life. Restoring our full access to the Father was and remains the entire mission.
He is also clearly telling us that every road but Him takes us further from that Life the Father uniquely designed us to live. Religion is a dead end, the world denies the truth and a man's flesh naturally seeks to secure life apart from God. Given these obstacles it's no surprise the unfathomable invitation to return home remains hidden in plain sight. But it's been here all along. Since the days of old God has been exhorting us that if we seek the road to him, we will find it...
“Go stand at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for directions to the old road,
The tried-and-true road. Then take it.
Discover the right route for your souls.
”
“I am the Road.”
"...and be my son."
Certainly Christ's calling preceded his birth, but His glory and mission weren't revealed until after receiving this profoundly simple affirmation "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." (Mt 3:17) These words became Jesus' lifeline through loneliness, rejection, betrayal, misunderstanding and murder. They were his highest joy and strongest fuel. If Christ then, who bids "come follow me" needed such validation and affirmation, how far can we expect to get without the same? The Father's affirmation is our birthright. Again, the Father's affirmation is our birthright as sons. But most men are afraid to ask the question of "God, what do you think of me?"
It's tragic how good men try to be God's servants without first becoming his sons. The intended power of their lives is snipped like a flower. Their fuel to serve comes not from knowing they are loved, but rather in an effort to be loved. They serve not from identity, but instead to find identity. They never find rest. Sonship must be the starting line for your great race. Any true personal change or meaningful work you hope to accomplish with your life cannot begin until you start believing with your heart "I am my Father's son. I am Loved, Pursued, Protected and Provided for. My Father has the plan and He will always lead me to Life." With each thought taken captive by Truth we begin to live and think and feel more like a son, but until that happens we continue to face each day's challenges more like orphans and slaves, operating mostly out of fear and shame. Our relationship with God assumes limits on our access to him and scarcity of resources. Until we lose fear we will only sparingly see the glory and goodness of God in our lives. And we will always wrestle with hopelessness.
The truth of our identity needs to go deep. Very deep.
“What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.”
“You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance.”
Yes. Sonship is step one.
The ultimate objective of the entire experience at BASIC was to hold back the heavy veil long enough for you to feel the sunlight again, start accepting your birthright and come home to the truth of who you are...God's deeply loved son. But this truth is so atomic in it's nature to change you that it's discovery and now it's establishment into your soul is deeply opposed by the one who knows who you could become, and fears you.
Whether it's through Satan in the wilderness, the pharisees in the temple courts, or a subtle lie launched in the heart, the identity's of God's sons have been under heavy assault since the beginning. It's why you were wounded. It's why the larger story has been kept hidden from you. It's why you were seduced into developing a false-self strategy to make like work apart from God. The very idea that a human could become God's son, the object of God's affections and an instrument for His power is a truth impossible to accept without personal revelation from God. And as soon as we begin to receive this truth we will experience stiff opposition to believing it. We must learn to cry out to Jesus like the father of the demon-possessed boy did "I do believe. Help me with my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)
Brother, we pray that the height, width and breadth of your salvation is becoming more clear to you. Father sent us to you to ask you the question, "Will you come home and be my son?"
Friend, will you share the narrow road with us as we follow Jesus on this adventure into sonship? You will discover the Way, the Truth and the Life you were born for. This is the rescue we've been looking for all our lives. It's time to head home and live loved.
As Sons,
Jay Heck and the Alamo Band of Brothers
“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”
For Homework: Watch The Karate Kid
Yes, the one made in 1984 with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. Here is the Trailer. It's a common proverb that "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." Well it also holds true that "When the son is ready the father appears." This movie is a beautiful parable illustrating not only the Father's wise and patient instruction of his sons into manhood, but the pure delight he takes in them. To see an awkward, lanky, unfathered kid become a son to a loving sage exposes my deepest hope as a man still hungry for fathering. It's a mirror into the invitation of the gospel that my kids and I still love.
Practice the presence of God. with a journal.
1. Did God reveal a name he has for you? If so, what is it?
2. In your journal compare the benefits of your "new name" (if you haven't heard your new name yet, just make up a good one) to the simple name "Son". Take a few days to compare the two. Which holds more hope and promise? Which makes you wealthier? Let that sink in.
3. Read 1 John 3:1
4. When was the last time you heard God tell you that He loves you? Ask Him. Invite Him to be creative and playful in how He tells you, then keep your heart open. Repeat often. He does not get tired of being asked because He is a good Father.
“The most important thing about a man is not what he does, it is who he becomes.”
Go Deeper with Great Resources:
1. The books Beautiful Outlaw and Fathered by God by John Eldredge are both excellent. If you give a closer look to the life of Jesus you will see what's possible for a man who accepts the invitation to be fathered by God into this truest self.
2. The Daily Prayer. This is the truth you need. Packed with scripture to re-orient your heart around the truth of who God is, who you are in him, and what he is doing in you through the power of Jesus perfect and complete work. We strongly suggest you make it a part of your morning routine every single day.
3. Ransomed Heart Tribe gives you great resources. Use the Promo Code ALAMOBROTHERS to extend the free trial another month. All of these resources are available for free download, so even if you don't keep the subscription, they are giving you the resources, essentially for free.
4. Do you enjoy blogs? Being Sons, Become Good Soil, or Schroller's Blog (SummitTrek)
5. Do you enjoy podcasts? Try Ransomed Heart, Work. Life. Play, Become Good Soil, or psychologist Dan Allendar.
For Music and Worship playlists, book recommendations and prayers Go to our Recommended Resource Page
