"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 honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." (Revelation 4:10-11)

As Christians, we are promised crowns of various sorts. Those we have ministered to are our "crown of rejoicing" (1 Thessalonians 2:19), our "joy and crown" (Philippians 4:1). We have the "crown of righteousness" (2 Timothy 4:8) for service to the Lord. If we endure, we will "receive the crown of life" (James 1:12) and the "crown of glory" (1 Peter 5:4). These crowns are "incorruptible" (1 Corinthians 9:25), lasting for eternity. But of what use will crowns be in glory?

We will willingly cast our "crowns"--our accomplishments performed in service of Him--at His feet as an act of worship, for all we are and have done has been a gift from the almighty sovereign creator/Savior. Even today we can crown Him King of every area of our lives. The grand old hymn "Crown Him with Many Crowns" relates this and reminds us to look ahead.

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.

There will come that day when we form "a great multitude . . . Before the throne, and before the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9) singing "the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works" (Revelation 15:3). The theme of our song will be that "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). JDM