Henceforth 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.

   - 2 Timothy 4.8

Moreover, if any injury were done to him, he would always do some good thing in return, for he always forgave injuries. He would labour with his hands for the love of God, to get what they wanted for the poor. And so he passed his life in this world as to receive the crown of eternal life in the world to come.

   - Anonymous, Life of Ciaran of Saighir, Irish, 17th century, from an earlier ms.

Do people live up to the level of their ability or of their vision? 

If we try to live up to the level of our ability, we’re always going to discover that we never quite have what it takes to carry out the demands of the Gospel, particularly those which require us to overcome evil with good (Rom. 12.21). Or else, sensing that we’ve reached the limits of our ability, we won’t aspire to anything more: when we’ve had enough, we’ve had enough.

Let’s face it, when we’re slighted, hurt, or offended by someone, turning the other cheek is not our first line of response. If we had a different vision for our lives, that is, if our lives were directed toward a more eternal horizon, we might find that we actually have abilities we were not even aware of – such as the ability to forgive and to love even our enemies.

Jesus, “for the joy set before Him,” certainly rose above merely human abilities and tapped into divine power to endure suffering, shame, and scorn for the sake of enemies such as you and I (Rom. 5.10). He had His eye on the crown of glory that awaited Him, and which He now wears as He advances His Kingdom on earth.

If, like Jesus, we can learn to concentrate on the crown of righteousness and the glorious appearing of our Lord, we might find strength to endure suffering and sacrifice, insult and injury, that we never knew we had.

When our vision is of Christ in glorious splendor and our horizons are eternal rather than temporal, the Spirit of God within us can grow us, soul and body, beyond – exceeding abundantly beyond – anything we have ever experienced in the life of faith (Eph. 3.20).

Don’t settle for a small vision of your life; look to distant horizons, brethren, and rise, rise!

Psalm 84.1-4 (Holy Manna: “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship”)
Lord of Hosts, how sweet Your dwelling! How my soul longs for Your courts!
Let my soul with joy keep telling of Your grace forevermore!
Like a bird upon the altar, let my life to You belong;
Blest are they who never falter as they praise Your grace with song!

Lord Jesus, show me the radiance of Your face, that I may desire You and be transformed to become more like You! Adapted from Columbanus, “Poem on the World’s Impermanence”

T. M. Moore, Principal
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