By Pastor Steve Nickodemus

A Crown To Cast Before Him

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“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 2:10b English Standard Version

This carving by my friend Mick reminded me of a similar picture my grandmother had in her living room.  There was a picture of a cross and a crown with those words printed in German.  I often wondered about that picture until I read this verse in Revelation, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Sometimes you will also hear people paraphrase this verse by saying, “If you can’t bear the cross, you can’t wear the crown.”  Or in other words, there is going to be some really hard persecution and trials in your life.  If you stay faithful to the Lord, even in the midst of those sufferings, you will enter into the Lord’s presence when you die.

My grandmother experienced a lot of suffering in her life.  She suffered physically and emotionally and financially.  Life was hard most of the time.  Her body hurt a lot and she had much grief and loss.  She never had much money and she worked hard right until she died in her 90’s.

But in the midst of all that suffering, she remained faithful to the Lord.  She trusted in God’s promises in Jesus Christ, that her sins were forgiven in His suffering and death and that she had eternal life by His resurrection.  And she trusted that God would provide for her in every tribulation.  When Grandma died, she was still trusting her Lord.  She bore the cross and now she has been given the crown of eternal life.

All those who trust in Christ Jesus, who remain faithful to Him unto death will also receive this crown of life.  And when we stand before the Lord in heaven, when we experience fully His glory and grace, we will fall down and cast our crowns before Him.  For it is by His sacrifice and faithfulness that we enter into His glory.  It is by His faithfulness that we persevere.  It is by His cross that we enter into heaven and it is His forgiveness and mercy that gives us eternal life.

Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado