For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy.
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20
Paul is looking forward to a crown of glory that is to come. This crown, according to the language used and the historical context in which Paul lived, would have been a crown similar to the award given to the victor of an athletic event.* Using branches from laurel, pine, celery, or (as in the area of Thessalonica) oak a wreath was formed to create these crowns.*
The visual that Paul provides communicates that he is excited to end the race with a crown.* Why would Paul want to boast of a crown if he claims that he only boasts in the cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14)?*
Revelation 4:10-11 provides some look into why Paul would boast and find glory and joy in the Church in Thessalonica:
the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”
Paul is excited to have a crown because it serves as the greatest opportunity of all time: to boast in the power of the cross of Jesus Christ to transform the Church of Thessalonica into His image and then lay the glory and the joy of that transformation at the feet of Jesus as an act of worship!*
It inspires this question: what crowns am I pursuing? Are they eternal? Can I lay them at the feet of Jesus, or are they crowns that will fade and be destroyed by time?
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to invest in the eternity of the people around you. Perhaps today God wants you to allow Him to examine your heart to see what crowns you are chasing and why. Maybe today God wants you to boast of His cross.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 95–97). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 134–135). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 153–155). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, pp. 267–271). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 67–68). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 91–94). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 201–205). Baker Academic.