Skip to main content

Crowns

             Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.  (John 17:3)

          Today’s Biblegateway.com verse harkens back to Monday’s passage and the discussion of the condition of being blessed as not being magical. I suspect that it’s not that God sprinkles blessings down on people after they’ve persevered under trial or somehow proven that they love Him. Rather, it’s that those who love Him already have the crown of life. That’s what the verses in John make clear.

          The trials under which we must persevere aren’t to earn God’s blessing of eternal life. They are a consequence of having the blessing of eternal life, and ultimately, they reveal the nature of that eternal life. And just as building and maintaining endurance is part of being physically healthy, so building and maintaining endurance is part of being spiritually healthy. The problem we often perceive is that building muscle requires that we go beyond what we thought we could.

Building endurance is the same. We may pat ourselves on the back for enduring something in a way we think is well, but if we don’t keep enduring it, or enduring more, we’re likely to lose the endurance for which we’ve patted ourselves on the back. I used to run 6.5 miles per day, five days a week. Then I walked it. Now I can’t walk it. I used to endure the discipline that got my weight down to healthy levels. Now I can’t seem to endure the discipline to lose ten pounds. The same happens spiritually. What we don’t use, we lose.

Something else comes to mind with this passage: the crown. It might be a literal spiritual crown of some sort, but I suspect that the crown is life itself. I’ve never worn a crown, but I’ve worn headbands, hats, scarves, facemasks, and earphones. I suspect I fidget with them more than I realize. For that matter, I fidget with my hair, especially if it’s not in a bun or ponytail. I can only imagine that if I were given a crown and told to wear it, I’d fidget with it, put it on, take it off, and possibly even find it irritating. Can you get a crown blister? I suspect so. And wearing a crown tends to mean having to behave properly. At first, at least, we’re likely to be very conscious of it. After a few months, it’s old hat and we’re likely to even neglect to care for it or to reach the conclusion that it’s not a very nice crown.

But what we may decide is no better than a piece of ribbon tied around our heads may become dear to us. We may find ourselves enduring for the sake of the crown. Someday, we may take a look in the mirror and rediscover just how beautiful it is (or perhaps that it has become.) 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Shepherd!

                 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep . (John 10:14) God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Genesis 3:14) The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths     for his name’s sake. Even though I walk     through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,     for you are with me; your rod and your staff,     they comfort me. (Psalm 23:1-4) For the Jews, it was politically incorrect to make claims about yourself as a teacher (or possibly as anything else.) Teachers were expected to take pride in the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more