Receiving Crowns

Sometimes, as we journey through this temporal life, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that we Christians not only are afforded eternity, but rewards for our time here. As I listened to the teaching at my home fellowship this week, we touched on the five crowns. One in particular struck me: the crown of righteousness.

henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing.
(2 Timothy 4:8)

At first, as the teacher spoke of how she longed for His appearing, I was convicted that I may long to be with my Lord, but I do not long for His "coming". While she could look into the sunset and rejoice that it could be this very moment, I could not say I have done the same. Moreover, I have not done it properly as to receive this crown. Another translation helps me understand why:

So a crown will be given to me for pleasing the Lord. He judges fairly, and on the day of judgment he will give a crown to me and to everyone else who wants him to appear with power.
(2 Timothy 4:8)

See, I merely wanted to escape this life and be in Heaven. I was being self-centered and focused on my own toil and trial. What Jesus is telling us here is that we must long for the day when the earth is forever changed. When he comes "with power" to end wars and famines and troubles. I must look to His plan for the world as something far greater than my speck of time on this earth.

Do you long for Christ to come in power and glory? Do you rejoice at the knowledge that His plan will most certainly unfold and give HIM glory? Consider your focus when you think of meeting Jesus, and consider the end of the ages.

As we study the book of Revelation, for the first time it is a refreshing knowledge. I truly am blessed at it says I should be. Because I now believe in His power and His plan over my own.

Grace and Boundaries

I found a divergence in my Wednesday bible study to be of interest. One person, then another began to question forgiveness. The beginning of this discussion came from a person pained by someone else's inability to admit when they are wrong. Her immediate conclusion is that this person is not following Christ if they can't do what is right. The Pastor made a good point, that what we do is between God and I and ultimately forgiveness is our job.

I wanted to take it further, but knew the Pastor wanted to refocus on the lesson. What I was reminded of is our stubborn need to be right. What I heard was the desire to attack a person's Christianity simply because they are wrong.

My good friend and sponsor in Celebrate Recovery often reminds me that we are all broken people, and we will all fall short at some point. I've been attacked before by my own family, saying I don't follow Christ simply because I made some bad choices.

How would that make you feel? That could destroy a person's faith. Stay away from attacking a person and learn to set boundaries. Don't let your own pain be a path for destroying others. Instead learn to be healthy and recognize that we neither are always right nor do we need to be.

Our heavenly Father is our source of worth. Not the agreement of someone else. And, when we fully find our worth in Him, we can learn to identify the wrong and set a boundary that will keep us safe from further wrong.