Crown of Life

 *12*Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. *13*Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. *14*But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. *15*Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 

*16*Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. *17*Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:12–17.

God promises you the crown of life if you love HIm. Loving God means having a relationship with Him that includes spending time getting to know Him, listening, expressing joy and gratitude, being obedient, and trusting Him when you are tested. These things strengthen the depth of relationship you have with God and therefore lead to growing in the steadfastness that James is keen for us all to know. As you can probably tell, this is not an easy task. In fact it takes extensive training, pain and discomfort to become steadfast in your relationship with God and to gain the crown of life. Like anything worth having it will take time, effort and require sacrifice just like trying to gain any other crown or trophy. People compete, practice and dedicate their time, even their lifestyle to gain trophies and crowns. The highlight of their lives, the momentous achievement of a lifetime, worth the discomfort and sacrifice to get the glory of the competitive crown. Yet how long does an Earthly crown or trophy last? The attainment of the prize requires years of discipline, dedication and self-denial, but the glory lasts only moments in comparison. 

Living to attain the crown of life also requires sacrifice, effort, and discomfort. It takes a lifetime of dedication, discipline and self-denial to truly follow God and to love Him. It takes a lot of practice, mistakes, trials and triumphs to gain steadfastness and the crown of eternal life. This crown is not just a transient trophy or a briefly held prize - It is an eternal reality. A symbol of a faithful life lived, a promotion to authority and a well-earned, everlasting prize, and you can have it! The question is, are you willing to live your life to attain it? 

It takes training to live a steadfast, God-honouring life. That is the only way you will get this crown of life, are you training yourself to get it? 

Everyone has something that they are training for in life, whether you realise it or not. You have something(s) that you plough your time, effort and money into, things that you are dedicated to and upon which you base your lifestyle and decisions on. These things can be healthy goals, or things that aren’t. Either way, you can become fixated and overwhelmed with what living to achieve these things really means. Sometimes these goals can end up becoming pits as the desire or achievement is never satisfied or fulfilled. It can become an endless, tiresome cycle of desiring bigger and better and can lead to anxiety, worry, frustration, feelings of ‘not good enough’. It can seem like an endless tireless treadmill. So, I wonder, today, what would you say you are living for? Are you competing for; a crown? Promotion? More money? Better life? Fitter body? The crown of life?

God has promised that you can have this crown of life. It is available and waiting for you. Are you going to follow Jesus wholeheartedly through thick and thin through times of disappointment and success to get it? If you do, you can be assured that at the end of this earthly existence, you will be crowned with life. Not a temporal crown that will be passed onto the next person when the competition is won by someone else, but this crown, the crown of life, is personally promised by God as part of your eternal inheritance. It has been set aside for you to wear. You have an eternal future waiting for you where you can be crowned a champion by God - Are you willing to live your life in such a way that you can earn that future?

There is valid warning following the promise of this crown in the verses above -  temptation is lurking. In the quest for relationship with God, a good holy, healthy life and the goal of the crown of life, there will plenty to try to take you off track. There will be outside influences, but also the ever-present temptation from within. James wants you to understand that growing in steadfastness, loving God and gaining the crown of life means walking away from sin. So, you need to know where sin comes from. It is not from God, not from the devil, but comes from your own desires. Some of the desires inside of you are not in  line with God, and they can easily lead to temptation and sin, 'and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.' Not a pleasant thought, but a reality. James doesn't want you to think that you can have both; the crown of life and sin. Living an earthly existence to gain eternal life looks like denying your own desires and living for God. It sounds flippant, but it is true. You need to realise and get to grips with the fact that all of your sin is dead. Jesus embodied it all and he was tortured and killed - 100% dead, so that you could know that all of your sin is 100% dead. If you believe in Jesus and live a life honouring God, the reality is you are free from all sin. Yet you are not free from temptation. That still stems from your desires, yet you now have the choice whether you step into sin or not. This is what it means to run the race of life living to attain the crown of life. There are obstacles, things that try to trip you up. They are not from God. If you want to live for God, love Him and get your eternal inheritance, then you need to be aware of yourself, your own desires and temptations so that you learn how to combat the desire to sin. It is true, it is hard work, it requires self-denial, a change in lifestyle perhaps and a life's work of dedication. Are you up for it? 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change' God has this perfect gift of the crown of life awaiting you, are you living to attian it?

Called, Beloved, Kept

 

*1*Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, 

To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: 

*2*May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 

Jude 1–2.

In these opening verses of the letter of Jude, like any other letter, we can see to whom this letter is intended. Except that it is not to a particular address, city, town or group of people. It is, ‘To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ’. So, whoever is called, beloved of God and kept for Jesus are those to whom this letter is written - are you one of the intended recipients? What does it mean to be called, beloved and kept? 

‘To those who are called’. 

This implies those that have been selected, chosen and invited. Although those who have been invited may not come, so this is for those who have listened to the call of God and responded to follow. Those who have heard, accepted and are now living life showing who they are and who they are serving. God has called, have you heard his invite and accepted and followed or turned your back and walked away? God will continue to invite you to realise you are His beloved, even if you haven’t followed Him yet.

‘Beloved in God the Father’

Beloved = greatly loved, held in much affection, valued, prized, held dear. This is how Father God feels about you. If you are alive today, even if you do not realise it, or fully understand it - this is how God responds to you; You are His beloved. Held dear, highly valued and prized by God. Why not take a moment just to consider that.

‘Kept for Jesus Christ’

Not only have you been called and greatly loved, but you are also preserved, set apart and saved for Jesus. No matter what life throws at you, you are being protected and ‘kept’ for Jesus. God knows that His love and favour for us, and our responding ‘yes’ to His call will mean things will come against us, that’s why we have this assurance that we are ‘kept’ for Christ. Can you keep holding on through life’s struggles by accepting your call and knowing the deep, affectionate love of the Father? If you do, you will be part of the prize Jesus receives - you are being preserved and saved for him.