the cross and the crown

The way of Jesus is found in the following words - Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.


In these words we discover both a cross and a crown. A cross in that Jesus did not cling to what was rightfully His. A cross in that Jesus relinquished His rights to self-exaltation and self-determination. A cross in that the pathway of God led through suffering and death. We also find a crown. The Father gave Jesus a name above every name; a supreme authority. All creation recognizes the supremacy of Christ.

However, the crown came only because of the cross. Satan tempted Jesus to take a shortcut to glory - Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Ah yes...the glory without the cross. How appealing to our self-perserving nature!

If we are followers of Jesus, we can expect His example to be our own road map. The image of God within us yearns for greatness and glory. However, that glory can only be achieved by yielding to God's ways. We continually face the temptation to grasp at the glory without yielding to the work and the ways of God. Satan still offers a similitude of glory without needing to go through the cross; a glory that allows us to choose our own cross (which incidentally is not a cross at all) instead of allowing God to determine our cross. Far too often the appealing offer of the crown without the cross entices us and we yield to the way of self-preservation.

As a result we are left bowing to Satan. We may have an appearance of glory but it is but a hollow empty shell compared to the power and authority granted by the Father as we embrace the death to self that following Jesus requires. We hustle and bustle with great gusto in an effort to look important. All our efforts, however, are rather empty with no real power to bring any kind of transformation.

There are no shortcuts to glory, no easy way to authority. Unless we submit to the Father's ways we can never truly wear a crown. The cross and the crown cannot be separated