Your Royal Crown

Your Royal Crown

Now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.

2 Timothy 4:8

God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12

Did you know that the Imperial Crown of India has more than six thousand diamonds on it? Or that the Imperial Crown of Russia weighs nine pounds? And England’s Imperial State Crown has diamonds, pearls, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies on it! But as amazing as those crowns might be, they won’t compare with the one the Bible tells us we’ll receive someday from Jesus himself. This crown symbolizes the reward for our faithfulness in resisting temptation. The crown is our reward for perseverance in the face of persecution because of our love for Christ. The crown is the gift God will give us for loving him more than the things of this world. This crown will be precious to us, because it will have cost us something—maybe everything.

This is not a mere piece of headgear we could thoughtlessly part with. It will be too precious. Only one thing—one person—could cause us to give away our crown. Only someone who is more worthy of it. Revelation 4:10-11 tells us what we’ll do with our crowns when we see Jesus on the throne in heaven: “They lay their crowns before the throne and say, ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power.’”

On that day, when we see Jesus on the throne, our sacrifices won’t seem so sacrificial, and our suffering won’t seem so significant. We will say to him, “You are the one who is worthy of glory. You gave me the faith, you gave me the perseverance, you created in me everything that earned this crown. It all came from you, and I want to give it back to you! I want you to have all the glory you deserve. I have no desire to keep it to myself because now I see that you are truly worthy!”

DISCUSSION STARTERS

What does a crown tell you about the person who is wearing it?

Think about the two kinds of crowns Jesus has been given: the crown of thorns and the crowns from those who worship him. What does each kind of crown tell you about him?

From the verses above, who does God reward with a crown?