Crown of Righteousness

​6-30-23
Crown of righteousness
Today’s devotion is based on 2 Timothy 4:7,8; “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—not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

As Saint Paul neared the end of his life, he used a couple of Olympic metaphors. He had fought the good fight drawing to mind the picture of a boxer lasting all the rounds in the ring. He had finished the race comparing himself to a runner. And what was in store for him? The crown of righteousness. Ancient Olympic crowns of leaves would spoil and fade, but not this crown of righteousness.

God credited that righteousness to Paul not because of anything he had done but because of the faith Paul had kept in Jesus as his Savior from sin. Paul already had that righteousness, but when he died, he would be crowned in it, no longer weighed down by his sin but made perfect in Jesus. This crown of righteousness is for all who believe in Jesus as their Savior from sin.
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Please pray with me:  Lord God, thank you for giving me your righteousness through the merits of Jesus Christ. Help me to run the race with my eyes fixed on you as I keep my faith in Jesus. Amen.