Crown Chaser
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)
Today’s Morsel: For twenty-eight years of my adult life, I chased after the corruptible crown. My twenty-eight years in military uniform pushed me to be a crown chaser. When I first enlisted in the army, and when I met my first drill instructor, and saw his campaign hat (Smokey Bear) on his head, I wanted to wear one myself. And I went after it. Crown chaser. When I saw the Combat Infantry Badge worn by those who had faced the enemy in battle, I wanted one, too. And I went after it. When I saw the spit shine jump boots worn by airborne soldiers, I went after them. When I saw the diamond inside the first sergeant’s chevrons, I went after it. When I saw the star with a wreath around it, worn by Command Sergeants Majors, I went after it. When I saw soldiers wearing Physical Fitness Excellent Badges on their physical fitness uniforms, I went after it. Chasing corruptible crowns. Was it a waste? I don’t think so. By learning early in life to chase after a corruptible crown, and by applying myself and motivating myself, when God called me out of darkness into His marvelous light, and I became born-again, God showed me how easy it was to use that same eagerness and zeal to chase after an incorruptible crown. The crown of heaven, the crown of life, a crown of righteousness is now what I chase after. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection. And now I’ve become like Paul, when he said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, 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.” (Philippians 3:13-14) Not only am I a God chaser, but I have also become a chaser for those incorruptible crowns. What crowns are you chasing after?
Sing: Then the Savior will give order to prepare the banquet board, when the redeemed are gathering in; And we’ll hear His invitation, “Come, ye, blessed of the Lord,” When the redeemed are gathering in.
Well, when the redeemed are gathering in, washed like the snow and free from all sin; how we will shout, and how we will sing, when the redeemed are gathering in.
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