Before we begin the fifth crown, let’s do a quick review of first four; remembering the first crown was of Righteousness that we receive when we exchange our sin & shame for Christ’s Righteousness; the second crown being the Crown of Rejoicing reserved for those who worship and praise God regardless of their circumstances; the third being the Crown of Glory for those who LONG for His Glorious reappearing; and the fourth, The Imperishable Crown, best known by the desire of flesh, eyes, and pride of life.
By all accounts, this could also be called the martyr’s crown. Many of the heroes listed in the book of Hebrews’ “Hall of Faith” found this crown as did Stephen, Peter, and so very many followers of Christ whom we will never know the name of this side of eternity. There are those who give all. This crown is purchased at a cost without rival.
Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life… The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. (Rev 2:10-11)
We live in a day and age where more and more hearts will fail from fear. Violence, disease, famine, and war breed the fear of man. It is so obvious that Satan wants to overwhelm us all into inaction or push us into reaction. Like Nero, Satan wants to stun us with cruelty and horror on one side and seduce us with riches and lust on the other. More than anything our enemy would like us to stay by the wishing wells, fretting and tossing coins. But we need depth to win this crown.
Recently I received word of an atrocity through a staff email. We have a key man who works with us to coordinate the distribution of resources in countries where persecution or poverty limits people’s access to Christian resources. One of our brave friends in the Middle East had been killed in a shelling directed at Christians in Syria. In the course of explaining the circumstance of this man’s death, our contact wrote, “Some are called to give much, others give all.”
I was stunned. As I drove to an appointment, I tried mentally to compose a letter to his widow. I felt that anything I said would be an insult to his life and her circumstances. Sorry seemed shallow, thank you seemed wrong. I would write her a note from the safety of a home that has never known the death of a martyr.
I felt ashamed. I suddenly felt my life was an insulated, empty shell and everything I knew and possessed was as fragile as the bubbles my grandchildren blow. I wanted to call someone. A woman who was older and wiser…. who would simply understand what I was going through even if she could not answer the questions raging within me.
I had so many “whys.” Why do I have so much when women across the ocean were so desperate they would rather take their own lives than live another moment? Where was the justice? Then I realized I was comparing. I was right to feel the contrast, but comparison was useless. There was no answer. There is only a serpent that has become a dragon. Under the influence of dragons, men and women do awful things to one another. I realized I had a choice. I could keep asking angry questions, or I could allow the question marks in my life to be changed to exclamation marks. I wiped my tears and decided that their lives would serve to punctuate mine.
These stories of persecution are not new – they come in every age. At fifty-five I must mature into a woman who doesn’t wrestle with questions I can never answer this side of eternity. Age alone cannot make sense out of the senseless. We are on a fast track, and the events of our day serve to make eternity that much more attractive. Which is all the more reason to labor well while we can. Only in eternity will the story make sense, but here and now we can pray and know we are heard when our hearts are free from competition, jealousy, and comparisons.
Consider Eph. 4:4-7 Message “You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness. But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each is given his own gift.”
BOTTOM LINE:
So much has been given to us. Our unique perspective is a gift. What we have seen and experienced is a gift. We have a choice. We can let it overwhelm us and do nothing. We can treat it as common and allow it to underwhelm us. OR WE CAN LIVE IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF CONSTANT WONDERMENT, pondering the power of our moment, then moving forward.
Before us are opportunities without rival, for we are
Positioned for a harvest without rival and
Destined for an eternity without rival…
Let us now live a life that is unrivaled in beauty, power, virtue,
and reach… some giving much, others giving all.
Therefore, stand before God, radiant in hope, faithful in serving, and loving in all you do. For you, my friend and sister, (even brother) have a destiny without rival. Now go with the courage born of love and boldly – brashly – live it.
NEXT UP: Jesus chose to reveal through this one woman something so preemptive, precious, and holy to whom others saw as tainted, common and soiled. By His speaking the mysteries of God to someone others considered the lowest of the low, he threw the door open for us all.