Jesus has a beautiful crown for each of us, and it's not just a crown we decide to take or leave when we're facing our earthly deaths or if we're called to martyrdom. It's a crown we decide we want every single day of our lives. It's a crown we've got to be willing to fight for, even if by faith alone. It's a crown we choose to sacrifice for, because we're convinced in our hearts that it's worth it and we know Jesus is counting on us.
We often picture a crown as being glamorous and golden and beautiful. But in everyday life it translates into hard work, sacrifice, dying daily‚ and taking up our crosses and serving Jesus no matter what. Holding on to our crowns is not a decision we make just once in our lives. Each and every day we've got to say‚ "Yes, I want my crown. I'm not going to deny my faith, but I'm going to give my all, whatever it takes!"—And sometimes it takes a lot; it's not always easy. We've got to decide each and every day to yield, to submit, and to fight for our crown, to keep doing God's will, His highest and best plan for us!
We've all got to fight for our crowns! It's dying daily and the continual choosing to take up our crosses to follow Jesus that translates into "that crown"! We may never see our crowns in a tangible form, so it doesn't just take fight, but faith as well, to hang on and not give up. But it's more than worth it! As Dad said: "There's no crown without a cross, no testimony without a test, no triumph without a trial, no victory without a battle, no rose without a thorn! Praise God, that's what you joined the army for—to fight and to win! It's worth it! It's worth every fight, every battle, every test, every trial! It's worth it all!"