I was not alone one Saturday in June 2004, as I watched the race for The Triple Crown. I felt certain Smarty Jones could pull this off. My thoughts were that unless some unknown shows up, we will have a Triple Crown winner. As you no doubt already know, one arrived and stole away Smarty’s crown.

There are a number of lessons one can learn from all of this. God has a crown waiting for those who are faithful to Him. When one becomes a Christian, God puts this crown on reserve and rewards the believer with it in eternity. The apostle Paul mentions this crown in his final letter to a young preacher that he had taught and trained. The aged apostle knew that he was not going to be free of prison, and that he would die. He said God has a crown waiting for him. This was a victor’s wreath that was commonly seen at the games.

This crown cannot be taken away from you. You cannot be beaten at the wire by another and thus lose your victor’s wreath. You can disqualify yourself, but no one can take it from you. God has ordained it that this reward is not for the swiftest, but for all who are faithful.

Smarty Jones lost it at the end, don’t let it happen to you. Be faithful and receive your crown of glory.

Norm