The scriptures tell us that salvation is found only in Jesus Christ, the son of God and it is by His grace through our faith according to Ephesians 2:8–9, but eternal rewards are based on one's faithful living and service to Christ.
God has promised those that believed and put their trust in Christ special rewards who faithfully served Him on earth according to Revelation 22:12. Some of those rewards are crowns. These crowns include the imperishable crown in 1 Corinthians 9:24–25, a crown of rejoicing in 1 Thessalonians, a crown of life in James 1:12 - Revelation 2:10 and a crown of glory in 1 Peter 5:4.
These may be the crowns that John saw the elders lay at the feet of Jesus in Revelation 4. In their words of worship, they indicate that, despite what they may have done on earth to earn these crowns, only Jesus is truly worthy of glory and honor. Likewise, as we stand in the presence of the Lord Jesus Himself on that great day, all our best deeds we have done will pale in comparison to Jesus. To present Him our crowns will seem but insignificant gifts to present to the One who gave His life for us.
2 Timothy 4:8, tells us, "Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearance." This great day exhorts us not only to look for, but to love His appearance. You might say it like this; "that we Believers, should be exceedingly excited about His return as our hearts daily long to see Him face to face".
As a born-again believer, we have already received the imputed “gift of righteousness” according to Romans 5:17, by His grace and have been “made the righteousness of God in him” according to 2 Corinthians 5:21. So, this crown of righteousness may very well be like a crown or wreath encircling the head of a victor in a race as a divine appreciation for a godly life lived in daily anticipation of the Lord’s return.
To love His appearing means to live in the light of His coming, to behave as if He were coming today. It means to strive to live as He has told us to and not be entangled with the things of this life. We should set our affections on things above, not on things on the earth according to Colossians:3:2
It means that in our hearts, that we would not want to do anything that we would not want to be found doing when He appears. Our heart's desires are His heart desires. We would not go anywhere that would cause shame at His coming. We would not want to say anything that would be offensive in His presence; and should we disobey and sin, we would be quick to confess and make right that which we disobeyed Him in, as I John Chapter 1&2 instructs us in.
If you knew that Jesus was coming at the end of the month, how would you spend your last days? The crown of righteousness is reserved for those believers who love Him enough to let His truth mold and shape their lives. It is not enough to retain the truth about His coming; the truth must be retained in us.
Hold Fast,
Bren
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