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A Crown of Righteousness
The thing most often mentioned in an obituary is family. That is where most lifelong ties are naturally found. These are those who knew her best. Those who benefitted the most from her life. "Survived" seems a strange word to me when describing those left behind. It sounds like the loved one who has passed was someone from whom people were lucky to be free. That certainly is not so here. Not today.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote Lamentations while looking out on the devastation of his beloved Jerusalem. He wrote,
This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should hope and wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord…
For the Lord will not cast off forever.
Though He causes grief,
Yet He will show compassion
According to the multitude of His mercies.
For He does not afflict willingly,
Nor grieve the children of men.
Lamentations 3.21-26, 31-33
Despite all Jeremiah saw in the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of his people, he still knew there was hope. Reba went through a lot in her life. But she had hope. Whatever she faced in life she maintained hope. Why? Because she had sought God’s grace. Because what you and I must remember, and that Ms. Reba would also remind you of, is - she was a lost sinner condemned to hell. But God extended His matchless grace to her through Jesus Christ and therein lay her hope.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
2 Timothy 4.7-8
His reward would be a “crown of righteousness.” That crown would be a symbol of righteousness … the culmination of God’s salvation … tasted while here on earth … yet only fully realized when we arrive at God’s side in heaven. This “crown of righteousness” is that moment when God declares us not guilty forever … when any memory of sin is completely removed by the magnificence of His presence … when we finally become the way God sees us, robed eternally in righteousness.
While here on earth, we only get to taste of the benefits of the salvation that God has offered to us. However, when we arrive in heaven and receive the “crown of righteousness” it is the full realization of the blessings that come from salvation … a complete and overwhelming experience of grace that lasts throughout eternity.
Although Paul would not receive an earthly reward, he would be rewarded in eternally. And when Ms. Reba arrived home, she, by God’s grace, received her crown. She won the race.
Yet there is one additional message to these verses, and it is…
“…and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
I pray that is true for you. You long for His appearing. Because it means, like sister Reba Cook, you had sought God’s grace and are living a life in service and obedience to your God.
We thank God for His grace and for what it wrought in the life of sister Reba Cook.
Thank you, Lord, for your servant.
