I lost all dignity on the treadmill yesterday. I came instep with a
revelation from a seed planted months ago. Dripping with sweat and
mildly panting after 2.02 miles, any inclination of self respect fell to
the floor and I was moved to worship outside of any expression that
could possible seek to feed itself. I was overtaken and moved.
I’m certain the lady on the treadmill to my left could hear me as a
multitude of different languages burst through the air of the
recreational center. None of which I could understand or in that
moment, even control. I lost composure, I lost control, I lost it all…
for the sake of a revelation planted in my life. I am quoting the seed
planter when I say this, “You get Jesus for nothing, but Christ will
cost you everything.”
I was sitting on a floor of a meeting space in Koh Samet, Thailand
the first time I came into the presence of a seed that would eventually
bring about the death of my complacency with my walk with Jesus. Up
until that moment all I ever needed was the very place I was camping.
My Salvation. It sickens me to think of the amount of time that was
lost while I was claiming a call self serving and comfortable. I was
found yes, but what is the use of being lost and found to only spend the
rest of your days sitting idle on a shelf collecting fleshly dust? We
are made for more than our current condition. We are called as co-heirs
with Christ. This took months to marinate to the point of breakthrough
yesterday but I will attribute the longevity of that marinating to my
stubbornness. My hope is to pass this on to anyone with in my reach,
because as I’m discovering just now, my new name really is Brian Christ
Alonzo.
It all stems from the book of Matthew. 42 Generations and an
inheritance. A change of DNA.
“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen
generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are
fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto
Christ are fourteen generations.”
If you take the time to go through Matthew 1:1-17 you will see that
the author totals the number of generations as 14+14+14 =42. Now take a
closer look and count through the number of generations and you will
see that the number listed up to Joseph and Jesus are 40 & 41. This
is not a mistake in calculations. Where is the missing 42nd
generation?
This takes me back to that seed. “Jesus you get for nothing, but
Christ will cost you everything.” Salvation is a blessed and amazing
gift given freely but that is not the end game. Our ticket to heaven is
not the final destination. The missing generation so cleverly placed
wide open in the book of Matthew has been screaming off the pages from
the time that gift was given. We have a birthright. As new creations
in Christ we have an inheritance. This is not about wealth and
prosperity. This is not about blessings and salvation. This
inheritance is about becoming a co-heir to the Kingdom of God planted is
us. As the church we are on this earth to claim that birthright. We
are, as the church, God with skin on. As the 42 generation unto
Christ. Claim it! Walk and be undignified unto Christ if that’s what
it will take to move past the drudgery of your settled state of
Christianity! Stand on roof tops declaring your new identity! Walk in
righteousness and command darkness to flee! Seek out Chaos and bring
order! Give praise and give God the glory for your new name! Run on
treadmills in local recreation centers uncontrollably praying in
tongues…
