Royalty?

I was listening to my iPod tonight and "We Fall Down" by Chris Tomlin appeared on the playlist. It was one of the first songs he ever wrote and is one of the most played songs by praise and worship bands all across the world. I love Christ Tomlin's music for a couple reasons. First, because it's so darn easy to play. I heard him in an interview admit that he wasn't much of a guitar player, so he wrote almost every song in C and used the C2, G2, D, Am7 set up with only the capo changing.

I also love his music because of the simplicity of his lyrics. It gives me hope that maybe I can write a song that will touch the hearts of millions. Check out the lyrics to "We Fall Down";

"We fall down
We lay our crowns
At the feet of Jesus
The greatness of
Your Mercy and love
At the feet of Jesus
And we cry holy, holy, holy
And we cry holy, holy, holy
And we cry holy, holy, holy
Is the lamb."

Repeat three times and there's your song. It's hard to believe that something so short, sweet and to the point could be so incredibly effective. But it's effective because it's true. The laying of the crowns comes from Revelation 4:10, where the elders do this and worship the Lord forever. There are a load of references to crowns in the Bible. There's the Crown of Life, which we are promised for those that endure persecution. II Timothy also refers to a crown of righteousness that will be given to the Christians at the final judgment. Of course, there is the crown of the thorns that Jesus wore when humiliated on the cross. Crowns have always been a symbol of royalty, riches and status. Yet God loves us so much that He has promised us beautiful crowns, while Jesus wore a crown that made him bleed.

What an example of the ultimate love. The giving and sacrificing of yourself to elevate others. I know I need to follow in Jesus' footsteps by giving more freely of myself. I will definitely be praying about how I can do this.

And in that final day, when I hopefully receive my crown, I will gladly put it Jesus' feet in all admiration and honor, because without Him first wearing that crown of thorns, I wouldn't have received my crown at all.

As Phil Keaggy said way back in 1971..."What a happy day when we see our Lord in paradise crowned as King of Kings. What a day that will be. Oh, what a day that will be."