In my searching and seeking for the knowledge of God I read a sermon by Charles H. Spurgeon and he used a Latin phrase, “Finis Coronat Opus”. Finis, the end, Coronat, crown, and Opus, work; the end crowns the work. Life may throw us for a loop, we may not like parts of our lives or the way we lived them. It could be based on bad decisions, choices, or notions that put us in a place unimaginable. Our past could be shaded and jaded. We may even be ashamed of our past, but God has made away to crown our end with a life well pleasing in His sight and the sight of mankind.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)
As we seek God and His will we start shedding off our old sinful nature and become more like Christ. We need to stake a claim in God’s kingdom as children of God. We can claim “I am a new creature in Christ therefore I no longer have to live like I did, that person is dead and gone! I will live for God!” This is staking a claim in the Kingdom of God. We need to lay hold of heavenly treasures and stand firm on God’s promises for us.
God goes before us He knows the plans and purposes for our lives. God went before King David and Psalms 21:3 says”(God) set a crown of pure gold on his head.” Let us therefore look to God and the end which He knows (see Titus 2:13). He will crown our end with glory and not with the shame of this world.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.(Jeremiah 29:11-14 NKJV)
God gives us a future and a hope well deserving of a crown. Let us call unto Him with all of our heart. He will take us from our old worldly captivity and place us in His kingdom to become His sons and daughters whose final end will receive a crown of glory.
And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. (1 Peter 5:4 NKJV)
Finis Coronat Opus. It is time to stake a claim!!
In Christ,
Greg