What are You Running Towards?

In Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells us to, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."  As such, pursuing the righteousness of Christ is the call that has been placed on every Christ-follower's life; not only are we to prepare ourselves for the future coming of the Kingdom, but we are to live out these values for the glorification of the coming King, today.

The working out of our salvation happens in the details of our everyday life experiences, where we are challenged to choose God over wealth and faith over worry; and successfully walking out our Christian life requires that we lay aside our earthly concerns, and fully commit ourselves to concentrate on Him, receiving our reward in heaven. But what reward?

The Bible tells us that among these rewards, five Crowns await us in heaven:

1. The Crown of Righteousness for our longing for the return of Jesus.
2. The Victor's Crown for self-discipline in living out the Christian life.
3. The Crown of Rejoicing for responding to the Great Commission in leading others to Christ.
4. The Crown of Glory for faithfully shepherding those whose lives Christ has entrusted us to care for.
5. The Crown of Life for enduring trials, temptations, and persecution for the sake of Christ; even if to the point of death.

Although we cannot say for sure what it will be like to enter into the kingdom or what our reward will be, we can be assured that none can compare to our coming into the presence of the Lord Himself and the splendor of seeing our Lord face to face for all eternity.  How then, do we as broken people successfully navigate our Christian walk and receive our heavenly reward?

The author of Hebrews urges us to, "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and run with endurance the race that is set before us..." (Hebrews 12:1).  This collection of words holds three very important action-steps Christians are to take: first, we are to lay aside anything that holds us back from pursuing a righteous relationship with Christ, second, we are to turn away from the sin in our life that binds us, and lastly, we are to never give up, always pressing forward toward our reward in heaven.