Paul’s Prize
Paul persevered to the end, and if you will do the same, you will receive a prize. Paul wrote “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7–8 NIV)
When I was in primary school, all I wanted was to win the Sportsman of the Year award at Parkrand Primary. That was my ultimate! I became captain of the cricket team: scored a 100, and a few 50s in our 5 matches, led the team to its first victory over Baanbreker and Concordia, the strong local Afrikaans schools, and we were runners up at the 6-a-side in Springs.
I won all my tennis matches and won the Parkrand tennis championship. I came second in the cross country. And I thought: I’ve got this in the bag. I am certainly the Sportsman of the Year!
The Crown of Righteousness
Prizegiving night came, and Sportsman of the Year was awarded… to somebody else. To my rival, in fact.
I was gutted. I thought I’d earned it. But I was passed over.
There’ll be no passing over of worthy prize-winners, on the judgement day. The righteous and just judge of the world will reward each one according to what they have done.
Now, for some people, they think this is bad motivation for the Christian life. In a sense, this is true. If you do something just for the reward, perhaps you’ve lost your balance.
But I don’t think Paul was only interested in his crown. It did motivate him to some extent, but his great motivation was to honour God! To bring people to God! To be close with God and to live a worthy life as a disciple of Jesus Christ!
Enjoy the Journey
When I missed out on Sportsman of the Year, I was upset. But you know what? I had a great cricket season. I had a great tennis season. I had a great cross-country season. I had a wonderful time and those things were worth the effort! The award would have been the cherry on top, but not getting it didn’t take away from the joy of those memories and victories!
Live your Christian life and enjoy the journey. Make the most of every day. Love God deeply. Love people deeply. Remain committed. Persevere.
Long for the crown of righteousness that will one day be yours. Aim for it. Go for it. But it’s not about the crown. That’s just the cherry on top. It’s about what you did to get it.
And so go into your weekend and live life well like Paul did, because the same Spirit that was in him is in you too.
