Clutching Our Crowns

I haven't played checkers in many years except for the occasional short half-a-game outside Cracker Barrel with my kids as we wait for our turn at a table. My brother and I used to play, though, when I was very young (think... four years old or thereabouts). 

I had (and still have) no mind for strategy, so I'd blithely hop my way to the other side of the board without worrying overly much about how I set up my older and wiser brother.

Generally, he'd let me get one of my checkers pieces to the other side before he'd cream me. And that was all right, because to me, the ultimate highlight of the game was that final square, and when I did everything I could to reach it -- and succeeded at last -- I'd call: "King me!"

And my brother would place the much-desired crown on top of my checkers piece.  

This morning, that phrase rang through my mind as I made it into one more verse of James -- James 1:12 today. "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."

King me! 

"Blessed is the man..." I've seen the hashtag everywhere: #blessed. And I love how God blesses His faithful followers. It's true; He pours out His blessings on us in so many wonderful ways. Sometimes, though -- I think we get a wrong idea of what it means to be blessed. I remember visiting a church back when I was in REACH where, at a certain point in each service -- every person would grasp their tithe and offering envelope, hold it in the air, and read down a list of the "blessings" we were entitled to as Christians, "claiming" those blessings as they were shouted out: financial security, housing, privileges by the number, and on and on.

I don't know if I was misunderstanding the intent behind the practice (I loved all other aspects of the service), but boy, that made me cringe. The Scriptures are thoroughly clear that #blessed does not necessarily entail the things on that list of blessings being so loudly claimed. "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23). 

So, #blessed doesn't necessarily look like: Big House, Big Boat, Big Car, Big Vacations. #Blessed might look like "the man [or woman] who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."

I don't know about you, but I have never received a grade on any test I've ever taken until I've gotten to the end of it. Until I've filled in every last blank, circled every last letter, written every last essay, the professor or teacher or whoever is grading it refuses to give me my reward -- until I'm done.

I never got "kinged" until I reached the other side of that checkers board, no matter how much I wished I could get my crown beforehand.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 4:7-8: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 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 to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing."

Paul's writing during a time when the Greek races are run by athletes competing for a crown of laurels. Laurels, in this context, is a sign of victory over hardship. Got some laurels on your head? You've won something. You've been "kinged."

I got outside yesterday and ran. I hate running; I'll just start with that. I almost literally have to talk myself into every step of the preparation process. Pull out the running shoes. Do I want to do this? No, I don't, but I guess I will. Slide on the knee brace. Why am I doing this again? Oh yeah, health. Get my keys for the car so I can drive to the track. I don't want to leave the house; why am I leaving the house again? I know, I know. I'll go run. 

And then I start running. Y'all, I'm not an athlete. I'm not even one of those people who wants to be an athlete. I like sitting... and reading, or writing, or doing other studious or relaxing things. I do not like pushing my body until my lungs ache and my breath comes in gasps and my whole body feels like it's going to fold inside itself. I do not like talking myself into one more step, and then one more. I do not like running, I do not like it, Sam-I-Am.

But at the end of it, do I feel better? You bet I do. Loads better. I've run off the stress, the stillness. My heart has slowed after a good workout and every last endorphin that flows through my body -- like after a hearty, long-lasting laugh (you know how good a belly laugh feels?) -- those same endorphins rush through me after a run.

I feel healthier and strong, and I come off the track, having left everything behind. All the stress, all the worry, all the negative thoughts, feelings, emotions. You could fold me up and put me in a box, I'm so relaxed. 

So Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24-25: "Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."

We have a purpose! We run this race to... do what?

We run this race to get a crown that will last forever. Eternity under our laurels! "Kinged" for all time!

But here's what I want you to see. This is what blew me away this morning. I read all these verses about our crowns (I read way more than I listed here on this post; y'all, there's crowns everywhere; it's like a royal I-Spy game in the Scriptures). 

Each of us -- we lay it all down on our track, we play our checkers game with full intent to reach that final square and get our crown. That royal headpiece is our goal, it's our ambition, our prize is before us!

But look with me at Revelation 4:9-11. We're in the throne room of heaven in this scene. John lays out his vision in gorgeous and overwhelming detail as he describes the throne of God (similar to Ezekiel's descriptions). There are precious stones and lightning and peals of thunder and elements of the earthly Tabernacle, made perfect in glorious heavenly splendor. There's a sea of glass, and four living creatures. There's a constant chorus of "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, Who was, and is, and is to come." And there are twenty-four thrones that surround the central throne; on those twenty-four thrones are twenty-four elders. They're each dressed in white, and guess what they've got on their heads?

Yep. Crowns.

What do they do with those crowns? "Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and Who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him Who sits on the throne and worship Him Who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne, and say: '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.'"

...

Wow. Wow.

We are "kinged," for the purpose of "kinging" Him Who is worthy of every. single. one. of. our. crowns.

Crown Him with many crowns.
Crown Him with all our crowns.

All the things we've struggled through and fought for and stood the test in and faced down... crown Him with our victory. Lay it before Him, because He is worthy of every last bit of ourselves that we can give Him.

We can't keep our crowns clutched to our heads. Sure, they're glorious. Sure, they're a reward for a task fought, a job done, a mission completed. 

But He wore a thorny crown so we could have our eternal crowns. He is the giver of our crowns, so let's give them back to Him. He deserves to be "Kinged."

He is the One for Whom we do everything, and we. surrender. every. last. one.

"King Him!" Crown Him with all our crowns!