When Crowns Do Not Matter Anymore

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Something spectacular happened to them that night, those twenty-four elders. Something very strikingly sobering. It was as though a group of twenty-four great men suddenly became only tiny specks of dust in the presence of a majestic God, and as though they became nothing more than a bleak mirage in the middle of a tyrant storm. 

They weren't nobodies, but were men of extreme importance, excellence, authority, and relevance: kings, warriors, leaders, senators, prime ministers, ambassadors, and possibly even presidents. The chapter of Revelation 4 simply calls them a title I really like: Elders. 

But something mysterious happened to these great men on a night when they stood around a greater throne. They witnessed something that went way beyond the grand schemes of their areas of leadership, and they became undone. Unclothed. Dis-robed. Undressed. Unimportant. Insignificant. Less competent. Less of elders. Less of kings. More of servants. More of children. More of sons than fathers. 

They touched their heads, removed their crowns, and lay their crowns on the ground in front of God.

"....the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before His throne, saying: "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created." Revelation 4:10-11.

Only few men truly deserve crowns, out of these the most hardworking of them all. The ones who start from scratch, without anyone there to hoist them up the ladder. Those who become rich out of only a few pauper's coins. Those who inherit no wealth from their fathers or mothers, but still make something good out of their lives. Those who show kindness and generosity, even when they have nothing much. Those who give to other poor people, even when they are poor themselves, these ones deserve crowns. 

Pastors, Farmers, Vine-dressers, Artists, Bricklayers, Fashion Designers, Architects, Medical doctors, Engineers, Teachers, Researchers, Authors, Scholars, Kings, Presidents, and men and women of other hardworking professions...these ones deserve medals, and crowns, if I may add. Those who didn't get there without shedding some form of pain and hard-earned sweat. These ones are great men and women who deserve crowns. 

But there comes a time when crowns don't matter anymore, and this, my friends, is when we are thrust into the presence of a God who wears a greater crown. The Life-Giver and the Master Architect, for without Him, nothing else can stand. 

There comes a time in our lives when we will understand that this life, and the acquisition of material and spiritual crowns, cannot compare to the majestic nature of who God is. Even if we want to spend our lives acquiring more than one crown, one day we will leave this earth without a robe, and there will be no crowns in the graveyard. 

ALL GLORY BELONGS TO GOD. 

Today, I join the twenty-four elders to place my crown at the feet of God: every accomplishment, every accolade, every significance, every writing, every degree, every praise, every word of kindness from a stranger, I lay them all at the feet of God, because to HIM BELONGS ALL THE GLORY. 

Question for the Day: Are there any crowns in your life that you need to lay at the feet of God? When you see yourself standing in front of His throne, like the twenty-four elders, and when you become undone, please do not withhold your crowns from Him. Have the most beautiful week ever. Your best days are ahead of you.