THe Crown of Glory

  

"Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily according to the will of God, and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading Crown of Glory."   (I Peter 5:1-4)

Hey Gang:  Did you ever stop to think what a tremendous blessing God gave to us when he barred us from the Garden where the Tree of Life is located?  When my mother-in-law was in the final days of her tenure on earth she was suffering from a multitude of ailments and weighed less than eighty pounds.To put it very plainly, her body was a mess.  Now, suppose she had had access to the "Tree of Life" and taken of the fruit of that forbidden tree and gained eternal life.  Yips, what a tragic thing that would be! 

Today we look at the fifth crown that is available to us as believers, the Crown of Glory.   One could take from Peter's words that this is the pastor's crown and will be given to the ministers who faithfully feed the flock of God.   Is he saying this is restricted to ministers?  I think not.  In all probability he is saying preachers, teachers, Sunday School teachers, missionaries.

But I do not believe it stops there.  I believe when you are mentoring someone on coffee break at work, or witnessing God's love on the golf course you earning a Crown of Glory. We are all called to be ‘…able Ministers of the Gospel. (Matt 28:18-20; II Cor 3:6)

I also believe this crown may signify the importance and sacrifices of bringing others into the ways of God.   Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.....teaching them to observe all that I commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20).  

I believe the point Peter is making here is that God can use you to teach and shepherd others and expects you to do that at every opportunity, whether formally or informally.  The old adage ‘your actions speak  O so  loud I can’t hear what you say’ is a clear indicator of how very important our actions are.

A warrior for Christ, who had just lead a non-believer to Christ, introduced the new convert to the minister.  The minster's response, “That is great - now mentor him.”  In a sense our responsibility just begins when the non-believer sees something is us that he wants for his life.  Being willing to teach and educate others, after they are saved, is one of the greatest things you can do for them this side of heaven. 

As I thought about and researched the Crown of Glory, God spoke to my heart and asked the question, "Do you realize how many times I sent someone with the need to know Me as their Lord and Savior across your path that you failed to be used by Me to bring them to Me?   Father, forgive me!

Soooo,  one of the fabulous blessings of being a Kings Kid is that God can use anyone, everyone, all of us, to teach and shepherd others.  God shows us the extreme importance that He is placing on those who teach and preach the word by word and deed.  So, my friends, go and make disciples!

Blessings,

Gramps