… ⁸in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness …

Retirees may receive a gold watch upon finishing forty years of employment, a slim reward for one’s life work. But when everything we do is framed in our minds and hearts as serving the Lord, the Master of the universe, rewards take on a different focus.

Paul was confident of his coming reward for years of service. Some Christians struggle with this concept, for it seems that the thought of rewards as motivation fosters a mindset of entitlement. Isn’t serving the Lord and seeing others come to Christ its own reward?

Indeed, Paul could refer to the Philippians and Thessalonians as “my joy and crown” (Phil. 4:1, 1 Thess. 2:19). Yet, here, he is looking forward to another reward—one he does not yet have. When we see the idea of rewards through the eyes of love and grace, our hesitation against it falls away. Yes, serving the Lord does bring its own reward, but Paul brings the idea out of the otherworldly realm and frames it in terms to which we can more readily relate:

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ . . . If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. (1 Cor. 3:11, 14)

Rather than a material reward or something that would give rise to entitlement or arrogant boast, Paul here describes the prize as “the crown of righteousness.” His motivation is that which Jesus promised to those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: they will be satisfied (Matt. 4:6). What does this mean? As believers, we experience God’s righteousness now, in that:

“God displayed [Jesus Christ] publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith . . .  for the demonstration . . . of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Rom. 3:25–26)

We have been justified, that is, made righteous in God’s eyes. While “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” there is a present disconnect with our daily efforts to live righteously (see Rom. 7:14–24, 8:1). The reward for those who serve the Lord comes when our progression toward practical righteousness will be fully integrated with our standing in righteousness. For those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, that is an enormous reward and motivation!

Lord, I do hunger and thirst for Your righteousness in my life.