Crown him with many crowns, the Lamb upon his throne,
Hark! how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of him who died for thee,
and hail him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

The Bible specifically talks about five (5) different crowns that will be given out to some of God’s people in Heaven.  If you look very closely at what these crowns are going to be for, they will be for work that is done for God that is beyond the normal scope of what the average Christian may attempt to do.  These crowns will be a special reward that will be rewarding excellence and maximum effort.

The five crowns are in no specific order of importance.
* Righteousness
* Incorruptible
* Life
* Rejoicing
* Glory

Today I will look at the first two crowns and tomorrow we will finish up with the last three.

CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: We all know Christians who are “righteous” down to the very cores of their personalities. These are the people who never have anything bad to say about anyone else. They hardly ever lose their temper, they are totally selfless, and they would give you the shirt off their backs if they had to. We refer to them as being “saints, angels, or angelic.” The world refers to them as “goody two shoes.” These are the people that God is going to be rewarding when they get into heaven because of the godly and righteous lives they have lived down here on this earth. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 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 appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

INCORRUPTIBLE CROWN: Bible scholars feel this next verse implies that some will be given what could be considered a “victor’s crown.” Professional athletes are a good example. They have to go through training camp to get ready for the season. They have to watch their diet and weight in order to be able to successfully compete in the sport they are in. They have to give up a lot of their social life in order to stay in good shape. In other words, they do not live normal lives like the rest of us do. They sometimes lose time away from their families.  The idea here is that God calls some of His people to do things that will require some sacrifice and temperance in the way they will live and conduct their lives.  If you are willing to sacrifice in this world for the Lord, you just may receive an “incorruptible victor’s crown” for going the extra mile for God and walking in total obedience to His call on your life.  “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an IMPERISHABLE CROWN. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Lynne Jahns
Christian Counselor