Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say … - Revelation 4:9-10

Today's Scripture Reading (May 31, 2021): Revelation 4

Every winter, just after Christmas, I like to watch the World Junior Hockey Tournament. It can be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride, especially considering that these are teenagers competing for the prize. Of course, the World Junior Hockey Tournament is actually a competition between two groups of teams. One group is simply proud to have made it into the tournament. Before the first puck is dropped, they know that they don't have a chance of competing against the heavyweights in the tournament, like Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Russia. The second group of teams at least holds out the hope that they can beat the giants. And sometimes, they do.

The tournament starts with a round-robin and then a playdown where a win moves you to the next level, while a loss eliminates you from the competition. But when you get to the final four, the tournament changes slightly. The losers of the quarterfinal play each other, with the victor winning the bronze medal. And then, the two winners of the quarterfinal games face-off, with the loser being awarded the silver medal and the victor taking home the gold. The result is that, as the medals are awarded, both the gold medal and bronze medal winners are delighted to receive their medals. And why not? Both of them won their last game. But the silver medal winners are often crushed, sometimes not even wanting their medals at that moment. And that is a natural reaction; after all, they just lost a hard-fought game for the championship.

John sees a fantastic sight. As the living creatures praise God, the twenty-four elders fall to their knees around the throne of God. There is no division among the elders. All that once might have divided them had faded into the past; it was no longer critical. And then they laid their crowns down in front of God's throne.

These crowns were not signs of royalty; they were a recognition given to the winners. These crowns were the gold medals given to the victor. They had won, but the win really belonged to the one who sat on the throne, and they knew it. So the elders, as they bowed down, also laid their medals at his feet.

We all want to win. It doesn't matter what the competition might be over; we are sure that we are in the right. Our version of Christianity is the right one. And maybe we are. But sometimes it is good to remember that there will be a time when these competitions just won't matter anymore. And in that moment, we will lay our crowns before the one who sits on the throne. Our differences, contests, the places where we were right, and the moments when we were wrong just won't matter anymore. We will fall down and lay our crowns before him in unity.

If only we could learn to do that now while we still walk this earth and not wait for that Revelation moment. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Revelation 5