Be faithful even to point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Revelation 2:10
I was listening to the kindergartners at my kids’ school recite this memory verse one by one to me this morning and really thinking about the meaning of this verse and how deep it is.
If you just look at the first half of the scripture, death sounds so final. I am so glad that the verse continues with the crown of life. This reminds us that life is like a marathon not a sprint. We need to be consistent and faithful in the way we run to make it to the end. We will have the mountain top times as well as the valleys.
I have been in prayer for our 19 kids going to NYC (Nazarene Youth Conference) this summer. Some will learn things about our Savior they have never heard before. Some will remember what it is to be called a Christian. Some might even feel the call to ministry at this event. Whatever their experience is, I know they will come home excited and ready to take on the world. This will be one small mountaintop in their life. Hopefully it is life changing in some way or another for each one of them. But with the highs being so great we all know that the lows will come. It’s easy to be faithful in the mountaintop moments, sometimes harder in the valleys. As I heard this verse recited for umpteenth time this morning the words CROWN OF LIFE stood out more and more.
Picture the crown of life sitting at the finish line of your marathon and let that image drive you to a life of consistent faithfulness to our savior.
Jordan Roth
SFNAZ Children’s Director