I am coming soon. Hold onto what you have to that no one may take your crown. ~ Revelation 3:11 ~

Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  ~ Revelation 22:12 ~

The words were written long ago. Words of promise, and words of possible trouble. The end of days will come and there will be much pain and suffering. Those who have remained faithful will find it hard to claim to hold to the faith when others have died or fallen away. It will be hard to live upright, even as it is now, for temptations are everywhere and the easy way out is, obviously, more appealing. But what is Christ’s promise to us? He is coming soon. Be it tomorrow, next week, next year, or beyond this millennium, He is coming. We may be saved from the tribulation before it comes, or when Christ comes again to take us away from it. Either way, He is coming and we who are faithful will be saved. That is the first promise, the second promise is that we have a crown to look forward to. Honestly, I’m don’t think it will be a physical crown of gold. The text does not say, so I cannot say either. Yet what it does say is that we will have eternal life, and we will live forever with Christ. We must hang on to this hope we have so that no one can steal our joy and lure us away. I once had an art teacher who reminded us, his students, of this verse every day. He would always say, “Let NO man take your crown! Christ died and rose to give you that.” He will give according to what we have done, which we only do because of what He first did for us. He died and rose for us, how can we do any less than be steadfast to Him? Christ is our rock, and He will never be shaken. He is our hope, and that can never be taken away. He is our love, and nothing can replace that. He is our salvation, and He will come again. Hold on, fellow Christian. Be not shaken by the shifting of the world. Times have been hard in ages past. Times are hard now. In most places, being a Christian is relatively easy. We are becoming more restricted, yet we can speak and live. In other places, our brothers and sisters are killed by the hundreds. Most certainly, things will become more difficult as the years progress. What happens now is merely a glimpse of the future. Yet a reward is waiting for us that is incomparable with the “riches” of the earth, so we must hold on. Our Saviour is coming for us; He has not forgotten, but we must endure till the end. For I can think of no greater reward than spending eternity living with my Lord and Saviour, in perfect peace and love.

~Rose