Live Life With The End In View
Sharon TownsendChesterfield, Michigan
“Always Live Life with the end in view” is a quote I heard but I do not remember where. (I’m not even sure it is a saved person or not!) However, I like it.
In the Bible several crowns are found, like the Victor’s crown, Crown of rejoicing, Crown of righteousness, Crown of life, Crown of glory. In the British Monarchy, there are different crowns for different occasions. Crowns symbolize victory and rulership. Crowns in scripture can speak to us of the different areas in which we have victor in and rule over. We overcome in these areas. I believe they culminate in the “Crown of Gold” seen in Rev. 4:4, “And around about the throne were four and twenty thrones and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads. crowns of gold.”
The word “overcome” means to “Conquer.
In Rom. 8:37 we find we can be not only overcomers or conquerors, we can be “more then conquerors.” We can be more than overcomers in all areas of life. The term translated “more than conquerors” combines the common verb “to overcome” with an intensive prefix meaning “beyond, over, above.” The result is an image of victory so complete that the enemy is not merely subdued but rendered powerless to threaten the believer’s standing in Christ. This is not self-generated triumph; it is victory bestowed and sustained by God. Awesome!!!
In the crowns mentioned there was a crown NOT mentioned, by which none of the rest would be containable by us without it. This is the “crown of thorns” that Jesus wore. When Adam rebelled against God and sin entered into this world everything was cursed. Everything that came from the ground, including man, was cursed. When Jesus hung on that cross, He wore a crown of thorns, thorns speak of the curse: the “crown” speaks of victory and rulership, over the curse. No crown would be possible for us to have, without this first crown being worn by Jesus. I want to look at two crowns, keeping in mind the words we started with “”Always live life with the end in view.”
The Victor’s Crown – In I Cor. 9:24-27 the saints are told of a race course. In this world, when one wins a race, the winner is given a corruptible crown that will perish. But they were told of an “incorruptible crown,” that will not perish. The Apostle Paul encouraged these saints and us to finish the race course we are on - “So, run, that ye may obtain.” In other words “give it your all,” at the end of the race the Victor’s incorruptible crown is awaiting the victor. We need this encouragement, because there are things that come against us to keep us from running or to quit before reaching the finish line.
We are living in the closing days of this age, the finish line is in sight. We know the times and seasons we are living in. Satan would always have us looking back at what might have been or how good things were in the past. This is what the children of Israel did when they were brought out of Egypt. The promised Land was in front of them and they kept looking backwards. That first generation never reached the finish line. Never enjoyed, in a manner of speaking “the victor’s crown.” We don’t want to look backwards, Saints. Not at the good times or even our failures. Satan would always have us look at our failures. Another tactic Satan would use against runners are the cares or pleasures of this world. Paul in addressing the Thessalonian overcoming saints, to not be sleeping or drunken. Satan would like to press in on us the pleasures or cares, even health problems.
There are so many pressures facing us today that one would be tempted just to give up and quit. But we keep our eyes focused on the end of the race. We “live our life here with the end in view.” Words of encouragement are given us in II Cor, 4:17-18, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. What we go through, will end. What is awaiting us will not end. We want the Victors Crown. Go forward, the end is in sight. Paul sums it up “…forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” – Phil. 3:13-14.
The next crown I want us to look at is the Crown of Righteousness. This is the crown that awaited Paul at the end of his race. II Tim. 4:7-8, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”
In Gen. 15:6, “And he (Abram) believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” I did not understand what that meant at first till I heard someone else say that the word “righteousness” has the thought of being “right with God.” Every time we believe God, we take a step with Him and are counted “right with God.” Paul’s “Crown of righteousness” at the ending of his race is the crown of being “right with God.” The day that we are saved we ARE righteous. We have a perfect standing in Christ Jesus. But every time we believe in the Lord and take a step with Him, He calls us righteous. We are “right with God.”
We focus our eyes with the end of the race, laying hold of the abundan of grace given us in Christ Jesus to take each step forward. At the end, we can, like Paul, say a “Crown of righteousness” awaits us. Just one more thing, is it wrong to look at the crown? NO, absolutely not. Rebecca was first shown the wealth of Isaac then she was shown Isaac. By the end of her journey, she had eyes only for Isaac – the wealth just happened to be associated with Isaac. The same with us – By the time our race is run, it is Jesus we only have eyes for. The crown is just associated with Him. Rev. 4:10-11, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
