2 Timothy 4:8 “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day–and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

The Bible speaks of two kinds of crowns. One is the kind of crown a king wears. It is a symbol of his power and authority. It is usually made of precious metals and crusted with jewels. Jesus wears that kind of crown in heaven. But that is not what Paul is talking about here.

When athletes win a championship or finish first in their event, we give them medals or trophies. The ancients gave them a crown of twigs and leaves. It wasn’t so much a sign of power as a sign of success. That is the kind of crown Paul is talking about here, the kind you might get when you win a race, or perhaps a battle. It’s the crown that says, “You made it! You win!”

The one we get in heaven is made of righteousness. All our life in this world we have had to make do with a borrowed righteousness. Jesus has lent us his. We aren’t righteous because we have stopped sinning, but because Jesus has covered our sins with his blood and dressed us in his own life of love. Today God sees us wrapped and hidden in him. Even when good things come out in my life, it is his life living in me that makes it happen.

But when we get to the finish line, just like Paul, God will say to us, “Here. Have a righteousness of your own. From now on the love you live will be love you produce yourself. The struggle is over. The celebration has begun.” Our crown, the evidence that we live as the victors, will be the righteousness that permeates everything we are and experience. It is the never ending future that will make our Christian life complete.