… ⁸in the future there is laid up 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 loved His appearing.

What a day it will be when the servants of the Lord stand before “the Lord, the righteous Judge” to receive the crown of righteousness. No fear, just excited anticipation. Not only do our practical righteousness and positional righteousness merge fully and completely, but this righteousness will be on full display. Through all eternity, we will be known as God’s showpiece of His righteousness. Lest we forget that it is not our righteousness that will be on display, we remember what Paul wrote to the Philippians:

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith . . . (Phil. 3:8–9).

He describes the righteousness that he desires to gain as both present and future. But the point is that the truth of God’s righteousness strongly motivates him. Elsewhere he describes his reward as “an imperishable wreath” in the analogy of one running a race (1 Cor. 9:25). The imagery of a crown is a metaphor for the display of glory on the crown wearer. For all eternity we will exhibit to all, openly and opulently, God’s righteousness.

For the self-centered individual, this doesn’t seem like much motivation. But for those who do love the Lord Jesus, it doesn’t get any better than that (see James 1:12). What a privilege it will be! This is the ultimate fulfillment of what John the Baptist desired when he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

We must not fall into the trap of seeing heavenly rewards as a merit-based system that will rank people by privilege in heaven. How can this be when it is all about Christ in glory? The point is that those who greatly anticipate the return of Christ, or, as Paul puts it, “love His appearing,” have greater anticipation of showcasing His glory than those who do not look forward to His coming. Focusing on Christ motivates a believer like nothing else. And that desire for Christ will not go unrewarded—our eternal lives glorifying Him will be our reward, and that will be the consummate sharing in His glory.

Lord, help me keep Your Son Jesus as the absolute focus of my life.