And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 1 Peter 5:4

I wonder what most of us think of when we think about Heaven. Do visions of Cherubim dance in our heads? Maybe we see a picture of the pearly gates? Or maybe, in the words of one author, we see it as “just a harp and crown trip.”

In truth, I am not sure any harps will be handed out—as fond as I am of stringed instruments. And I am not even sure we will be wearing jewel-laden crowns. Frankly, wearing a crown for eternity sounds like a headache.

So, what does Peter mean when he speaks of a crown of glory that will never fade away? For that matter, what does Paul mean when he speaks of “a crown that will last forever,” “the victor’s crown,” and “the crown of righteousness” (1 Cor 9:25; 2 Tim 2:5, 4:8)? Crown, at its core, has to do with exaltation (Eze 21:26). And in terms of the Christian’s heavenly reward, crown is most often associated with being exalted by God.

This concept may be difficult for us to grasp. For in the ultimate sense, God is the only one worthy of exaltation. And yet, Scripture speaks of our exaltation. As we read in 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” And this idea did not originate with Peter. Jesus declares, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

Jesus gets at the heart of the matter. The problem is that our natural bent is to self-exaltation. That is at the core of the sin nature. Even in the Garden, was this not what motivated our parents to eat of the forbidden fruit? How does the serpent tempt Eve? “You will be like God” (Gen 3:5). It is the thought reflected in atheist Ayn Rand’s book Anthem, “I am done with the monster of ‘We,’ the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: ‘I.’” We might not put it in such a crass way, but is this not the god of our age: self-exaltation? Even from infancy, we want to be first, we want to be preferred, we want to exalt ourselves. And nothing changes through childhood, adolescence and adulthood. As adults, we may learn to be a little more subtle in our self-exaltation. But no matter how you repackage it, it is the same old thing.

But Jesus shows us a different way. He doesn’t merely teach us a different way—He shows us a different way. Jesus models the way of selflessness, self-sacrifice, and submission to the will of the Father (See Phil 2:5-11). Why? Why would the God of all creation humble Himself and become obedient to death—even death on a cross?!?

The answer is simple—Jesus sought his exaltation not from the world but from the Heavenly Father. Jesus recognized worldly exaltation as fickle, shallow, superficial. He died so that we might live in obedience to the will of the Father—He lived for future glory.

Oh how I need to learn from Jesus to keep my focus on future glory. It is so much easier to seek my own exaltation through the enjoyment of things, through recognition from man, through self-centeredness. But God’s Word keeps calling me back. God’s Word keeps redirecting my focus. God’s Word keeps reminding me that there is something so much greater than all of these things—His future glory.

And it is future glory that Peter so desperately wants believers to keep their focus on. Peter, who learned firsthand of the calamities which result from taking our eyes off of Jesus, challenges us to keep our eyes on Jesus and the future glory we will experience in Him. He wants us to be reminded of “the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet 1:5). Especially in the face of trials he says, “But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:13). And he concludes his book with this future-focused benediction, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast” (1 Pet 5:10).

Believers, we are bombarded with countless reasons each and every day to take our eyes off of Jesus and His future glory. We are surrounded by things of this world which seek to distract and detract from eternity. But we have the powerful Word of God, the empowering Holy Spirit, and the life-giving Son calling and enabling us to live for God’s eternal kingdom.

Let us keep our eyes on the Chief Shepherd, keep our focus on His appearing and live our lives for the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Pastor Dan