CROWNS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

 

The most famous of Paul’s motivational and inspirational utterances has been: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  Indicating that he had a personal assurance that his election and calling was made sure and that he will inherit eternal life, he followed that statement by saying: “henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness” (v8). What is the faith that Paul kept that assured him of eternal life? Throughout his epistles to early members of the Church, Paul reiterated over and over that the path to eternal life is not the law of Moses as so many converted Hebrews still clung to, and not any law, but Jesus Christ and His gospel, the adherence to which grants us His mercy and grace, the path to all salvation, after all that we can do (2 Nephi 25:23).

Today we tend to view the Gospel as the gospel of limitations or the gospel of liberty. I have heard it said: “I just couldn’t live with all those restrictions”. Needless to say, that view was derived from the desire to follow the world. How we view the Gospel lies in what rewards we want. Those who want the rewards of this life view it as the gospel of limitations and abandon its standards and commandments through the delusion that they will have freedom. If we want the rewards of eternal life, then the Gospel’s standards and commandments are viewed as the gospel of liberty because it saves us from spiritual death.

I am often surprised how some people do not learn by the consequences of their bad choices that it doesn’t pay to view the Gospel as the gospel of limitations. Consequences cannot be escaped even following repentance. Christ can forgive sins but He cannot wipe away the repercussions of our acts. Consequences are inevitable, whether the choice is good or bad. Consequences of bad choices serve to remind us of the advantage of good choices.

Deep down, we all want a crown…..this is why so many fight for the glory of the world, because it is easier to achieve. He who sits upon the throne is the only giver of crowns that matter. Crowns of righteousness are crowns of  ‘everlasting’ glory bestowed upon all who inherit exaltation and eternal life. The race is on……don’t settle for the crown which in the end won’t matter.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: AI generated by Unknown)