Have you watched “The Crown” on Netflix? If you haven’t, you MUST! After finishing the first season (the only season so far), I am desperate for more…and David and I can’t believe we have to wait so long for Season 2 to start. We’re chompin’ at the bits!
To save your eyes and your time, I won’t go into any details about it except to say that it’s the story of Queen Elizabeth II as she marries, faces the death of her father, the king, and begins her reign, facing the ins and outs and ups and downs of it all. Watch it!
Since I’ve watched it all the way through, I’m watching it again. Tonight, I watched the episode where she is planning her coronation. In one scene, she is brought the large crown that will sit on her head during the ceremonies. She’s facing a mirror, delicately balancing it upon her head. As she does, she turns to the man who brought the crown to her (sorry, I don’t know what he’s called) and she asks him, “Do you suppose I could borrow it for a couple of days? Just to practice?” to which he replies, “Borrow it, ma’am? From whom? If it’s not yours, whose is it?”
This short, two-piece conversation sparked something in me.
Those of us who are Christ-followers are sometimes faced with this same dilemma. So often, we forget that we are children of the King…princes and princesses in God’s kingdom…mighty warriors. Without going into a long theological study, let me talk about crowns for a bit.
The Bible talks about a day when all of us who follow Christ will face our Father King. And when we do, we will be rewarded…rewarded with a crown or crowns. These crowns will be awarded to us based on how well we triumphed through our earthly journey. They will represent our faithful service of love.
The Bible mentions five different crowns that we could receive that day:
1. The Crown of Life
2. The Crown of Rejoicing
3. The Crown of Righteousness
4. The Crown of Glory
5. The Incorruptible Crown
As awesome as these crowns are, they can’t be worn in the here and now. That’s because this life isn’t over yet. But…there is a crown that Christians can wear right here, right now.
It’s The Crown of Hope.
Genuine, Biblical, God-hope isn’t a dreamy, whimsical “wish upon a star” type of hope. It’s solid. It’s sure. And its reality is as certain as the rising of the sun every morning.
One of the purposes for a crown is “to show that one is separated from the masses and given a unique identity.” The Crown of Hope is what separates believers from the hopeless mass of humanity. It keeps us aware of God’s promises, blessings and rewards that we have, both now and forever.
Hope is the virtue that God wants every believer crowned with today!
Somedays, we catch a glimpse of ourselves in life’s mirror, wearing our crown…and we hardly recognizes ourselves. “That’s not me. That’s not really me. That’s a plain old, simple ‘me’ with a crown on. I look ridiculous. Besides, I don’t really know how to be that person…hope doesn’t come very easy for me. Life is hard. So…maybe if God would just let me borrow it for a couple of days, then I could practice. I can walk around the house in it…see how it feels. I can wear it to work. I can do my daily activities with it on my head…learn to balance it there as I continue to balance all of the other everythings of my life. Then maybe I’ll get used to it…and I won’t look so silly or feel so uncomfortable in it.”
When we decide to follow and believe in Jesus, we receive this crown…there is no borrowing. It’s ours. It’s a gift. A gift of HOPE. Hope to live in this crazy life, right here, right now. All that we do is balanced against this responsibility placed on our noggins. It’s ours. We own it. The challenge comes with living out this hope in our day-to-day everything lives.
the girl ramsey 