James 1: 12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
When I think of a crown, I see a king or queen with an adornment on their head. What I see is rubies and jewels sparkling. However, the blessing of Christ is so much more. To be blessed by our Father, nothing compares or comes close to His blessings.
Endure- suffer patiently
Temptation – the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise
So blessed is the man who suffers patiently the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. What desires do we have? The desire to lie. The desire to steal. The desire to have our way all the time. The desire to eat as much cake, cookie, ice cream or whatever we want and not experience health challenges?
However, can we endure the temptation? Does our desire to be blessed and approved by God outweigh the endured temptation. Can we focus on His blessings to be approved and receive the crown of life? It’s promised to those that love Him.
Do we remember the promises our parents would make to us as children? We know children remember the promises that parents make to them. I know my kids do. My kids can’t remember to take out the garbage. However, they can remember a promise to eat out. They can definitely remember a promise.
Can we remember the crown of life promise from our Father? Is it enough for us to endure the temptations of this life journey experience and still choose Him?
Crown of life is a blessing from our Dad. The covenant that we have covers us. It covers our head. May I offer that it is rubies and jewels and more valuable than the worldly pricing. May I offer that the rubies and jewels that are of value, are all attributes of our Father. In Matthew 5:3-11 it tells us of the blessed.
3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven
4. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
7.Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake and then
12. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so the persecuted the prophets who were before you.
So rejoice about our crown of life saints, because blessings are there in our relationship with our Father. Closer to Him do we come in being meek, finding comfort, thirst and growth in our relationship with Him. Giving and receiving mercy, peacemakers, everything that looks like our Father because we are His children. So let us endure the earthly temptations because His crown of life is so important. His crown of life is made up of our Fathers purpose and vision for His children. It is shaped and formed by relationship with His children. If we look, the blessing all involves someone else. Someone must persecute us. Someone must die for us to mourn. Someone must experience our meekness. So, there is someone on the other side of these promised blessings. So, let us seek His promise, the crown of life as we relationship and fellowship one with another.
So, let us endure temptation, because with His approval, we are granted the crown of life. So, be encouraged saints. Let us be encouraged.
UniquelyDesigned1 