Where Crowns Belong

12.27.11

Revelation 1.5b-6a; 4.10b-11 To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father…

10b … They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

There must be worship services in Heaven. There must be things that they do there that we don’t do here…like wearing crowns. And there must be customs that they hold to in Heaven like laying their crowns before the throne of Him who made it all possible…

It is my daily responsibility to remember who I am and to where I’m going. This life is all about getting ready for the next. Presently, I don’t wear a crown but I better get used to the thought of wearing one because every indication I get from reading the Word is that I am being prepared to wear one. I’m not headed to heaven to retire but to rule.

You may know me and you may think, “Um, I’m not so sure Paul is ruler material.” But I don’t get to call the shots on what my future assignment is to be: I’m simply to be ready for it when it comes. Your job, if you believe, is to do the same thing. We are being prepared in this life for what comes to us in the next. And our crowns? Our crowns will find their place like everyone else’s: at the foot of the throne.

Think of Peter for a moment. Peter carried on in the most un-rulerly manner while he was on earth. But Peter now has a crown and a throne and rules in heaven. James, John, and Paul all do the same thing. Not one of them deserves, but each of them (now) understands what their lives were being transformed into by their attachment to Jesus. They were being prepared on earth for what they do now: rule and reign with Him. And their crowns find their proper place: laid before the throne of the True King and the One who makes it all possible.

Life really is about where we’re going. It’s also about what happens to us along the way to get where we’re going. We’ll someday trade in our ball caps for golden crowns and we’ll get into the habit of placing those crowns where they belong: at the feet of Him who made it all possible. All of what happens to me today, is divinely ordained to prepare me for what I’m going to face tomorrow; and ultimately on the day when that perfectly fitted crown is placed on my brow.

And then, like them, I will wear my crown and do what I was always created to do and I will attend those services and when the moment is right I will cast my crown to that place of worship and thanksgiving and proclaim the Name of the One who made it all possible.

That is what I am to remember today on my way out to Summerville, Cove, and Imbler – the places I am going to visit today. That is what I am to remember this week and every week as I make my way through this pilgrimage called life. I am on this pilgrimage headed to a place where a crown will one day be placed on my head by the Author and Finisher of my faith. He will extend His scepter to me and will say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”