The crown of life is the most coveted prize in the life of a Christian. God has put His blessings on the person who gets to wear it. As it is in sports, the winner and runners-up are awarded for their good performance. The awards are a mark of excellence and motivate winners to continue with their winning streak. 

The prestige of the crown. 

Some privileges come with winning medals and wearing a crown. It announces that you are not an ordinary person but one marked for greatness. Wearing the crown of life identifies you as a target for God’s blessings.  

Consider the tradition of monarchs wearing crowns. The King, Queen, and crown prince/princess have their designated crowns that are slightly different from each other. They are a symbol of their power and dignity. Similarly, there are different spiritual crowns in Heaven. The crown of life is for the one who overcomes temptations. He/should not succumb to worldly temptations. Such spiritual victory makes you a candidate to wear the crown of life. Besides it is the crown of glory and another one of righteousness. What is different from royal traditions and what is practiced in Heaven is that your spirit can have all crowns at once.  

The crowns of life, glory, and righteousness are waiting for you to qualify to wear them. Most especially, aim for the crown of life because it is the gold among the medals. The other two are the bronze and silver medals. They are equally valuable but the crown of life rises above all of them. 

These are the qualifications for wearing the crown of life: 

1. Being faithful. 

God promises to give the crown of life to those who are faithful until death. This is a figurative language – that believers who are faithful to the point of losing their most precious possession (life) will be given the crown of life. God wants you to believe in Him completely without holding anything back. Challenges will come your way but what counts is your effort to continue being faithful to Christ. Do not allow your decision in Christ to be swayed even by threats on your life. God is promising to give you the crown of life.   

2. Devotion to God’s work.  

God wants us to be devoted to His work as shepherds are to their flock. Commit your mind and energy to serving him and you shall receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Be a good ambassador as a minister of the gospel. Do not seek personal gain in the work of God, but be examples to the flock. Consider how the Apostles were devoted to God’s work even after the ascension of Jesus. The Bible narrates how the early Church increased in number and earned new believers. A gain to the Kingdom of God is a loss to the Devil. Your devotion to God’s work shall not go unnoticed. It shall earn you the crown of life.  

3. Maintaining the faith. 

Salvation has increasingly become difficult to maintain because of the many temptations of the Devil to Christians. He encourages us to maintain our salvation and He shall give us the crown of righteousness. Apostle Paul received this crown when he fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. As he did, so shall we when we maintain our salvation in Christ. Consider how athletes compete. When he/she feels tired and is almost giving up, looking at the finishing line renews their strength. The promise of the glory of receiving a medal keeps them going. Similarly, the promise of the glory of receiving the crown of righteousness will lead you to maintain your salvation.  

4. Training competitively.

Sports people train hard and competitively to be ready for the main competition. This is how God wants us to train and work on our faith in anticipation of eternal life. Discipline yourself in your faith by dropping the things that God hates and adopting what He loves. This should be your priority as a disciple of Christ. Let your life reflect the perfect will of God so that you do not fall short of what you are preaching to other people. This will save you from the shame of missing the imperishable crown that God has promised to us. If people can train so much to push the limits of their physical health for a temporary moment of glory and medals, how much should we train ourselves to receive the imperishable crown that God has promised? The Lord is the coach who will verify your training in faith and award you with this crown.  

5. Becoming a Saint. 

A saint is someone who fulfills the perfect will of God and obeys His commandments. They have risen above human limitations to qualify to be in God’s presence. The Revelation of John details what Heaven looks like – twenty-four elders sitting on twenty-four thrones clothed in white robes with golden crowns on their heads. They worship the Lord and cast their crowns before His Holy throne. This is the value of sainthood – to be in the presence of the Lord. He promises that the world shall see your righteousness and you shall be called by a new name that God shall give you. Sainthood earns you the crown of glory in the hand of the Lord. Your life changes for the better from there onwards. You shall be fruitful; your land shall give produce fruits, and you shall never lack. This starts with being a saint and then earning the crown of life. 

There are qualifications to wear the crown of life. Not everyone can wear it. It is reserved for those who meet the criteria set by God. He has consistently promised it to us and demonstrated how to get it. These five qualifications are the starting point. Picture this – how will your life be when you wear the crown of life?

Related Blogs

[bdp_post grid=”3″ show_date=”false” show_author=”false” show_tags=”false” show_comments=”false” show_category=”false” show_content=”false” limit=”6″ category=”16,21″ pagination=”false”]

Please follow and like us: