Crown Me
By Vernette Kureck
“Now there is in
store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge,
will award to me on that day - - and not only me, but also to all who have
longed for his appearing.”
2
Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
In
my mind, I was walking the beach collecting seashells. In reality, I was
sitting in the dentist chair having a molar ground down for a crown fitting. The
tooth was cracked and had quite a few fillings, so the crown will make my tooth
feel, look and function better. My seashell bag was full, so my thoughts
drifted to different types of crowns and what they signify.
First,
I thought of the game checkers. Once you reach the other side, you get crowned
and can move in any direction. According the verse above, as believers reach
“the other side” known as heaven, Christ will give a crown to all those who
have walked with Him and have longed for His return. This is not just any old
crown, but a Righteous crown. It demonstrates royalty and blamelessness. As children
of the King and Judge, we will experience true freedom.
Next,
I thought of my granddaughters and their love of playing princess. Even at
their young age, they get that the function of royalty has certain privileges
and responsibilities. Not only do you look and feel good, but your decrees and judgments
are to be fair and honorable. 1
Corinthians 6:3 states that as believers, we will judge the angels. For the
Final Judgment, people of God will be reigning with Christ and judging.
Yes,
playing checkers or princess is only a prelude to the work that will be done in
heaven. Crowns can weigh heavily on royalty. Perhaps that is why “the twenty-four
elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who
lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy
are you our Lord and God, to receive honor and glory and power, for you created
all things, and by your will they existed and were created’” (Revelation
4:10-11, NIV).
The
prep work was all done and I was wearing my temporary crown. I was ready to
leave. “Come back in two weeks and we’ll put on the permanent crown,” the
dentist said. I smiled and said, “I’m looking forward to it more than you’ll
ever know.”
GOING DEEPER:
2. Are you ready to lay your crown down before the
throne?
FURTHER READING:
Vernette and her husband
Ken have been married 45 years. They have been blessed with eight grandchildren
from their two sons and their wives. She serves Oakwood on the prayer chain.
