By Pastor Terry Parkman
Terry Parkman is the Student Ministries Pastor of Evangel Assembly of God Church in Bismarck, ND

          You ever wonder what Heaven will be like? I mean, as Believers we think we have an idea at the very least. Streets of gold, pearly gates, and I’m sure a Starbucks is thrown somewhere in there as well. While it’s great to imagine what will be IN Heaven; I’m interested to see what we will DO in Heaven. I for one would like to take a dip in the Crystal Sea that flows from His throne. At least in Heaven my swimming won’t be so terrible.
          The Book of Revelation gives us one of the most detailed descriptions of Heaven. In a place where gold is as common as pavement something occurs that strikes me every time I read it. It’s found in Revelation 4:9-11: “Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the One sitting on the throne, the One who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the One who lives forever and ever. And they lay their crowns down before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created everything, and it is for Your pleasure that they exist and were created.”
          Did you catch that? We have “crowns” people!
          Not only has Jesus gone to prepare a place for us, i.e. a mansion with a crystal sea swimming pool, but we also get to wear crowns that signify our reward. I bet it happens right before we enter through those gates when God says, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Then, as an angel walks up to me with a crown, there’s an angelic choir singing the Hallelujah chorus. I can see it now! Honestly, it just doesn’t get any better than that.
          Or does it?
          You see, for me it isn’t the fact that I get to wear a crown that excites me. What really gets me is what I do with the crown. Look again at the verse. It says that the elders lay their crowns down before the throne of God. Ah, there it is. It’s not the crowns of our lives that matter; it’s what we do with them when we receive them. Our rewards, our gifts, and our talents are only as good and effective as the degree to which we yield them to God.
          As martial artists, fighters, and enthusiasts, it doesn’t matter how many tournaments we win. It doesn’t matter how many students our gyms or dojos have. Nor does it matter how accomplished we become in the martial arts. What matters is the extent in which we yield all those things to our God. It’s the laying down of our crowns, whichever form they come in.
          Our goal in all we do in the martial arts is exactly what we’ve been talking about here: CROWNS DOWN. It’s more than a mantra or something great to put on a gi, it’s an attitude; a condition of the heart that causes us to place God and our relationship with Him before all else. I would challenge you to make this your theme this year. What would one year of consciously laying all that you have both figuratively and literally at the throne of God do for your life?  Let’s find out together.
 
God Bless Your Fists,