Upon awakening this morning, I pictured myself ascending a very old and marred wooden staircase. It was quite wide and had a strip of tattered carpet down the center. The rails were thick and rounded and well supported. My clothing was dingy white, resembling a robe of some sort and it appeared I had been toiling hard for many days or perhaps years.
I labored as I climbed toward the top but I knew I must keep going. I had confidence I was going to make it. As I approached the top, I turned to look back and as I did, the stairway had turned to the most brilliant gold I had ever seen. The carpet was no longer worn but became plush with colors of purple and red.
As I watched myself from a distance in this envisionment, my clothing, from the bottom up, began to turn to a dazzling white, adorned with gold. As I continued to climb, the once isolated stairway was surrounded by light and soft white clouds swirled about. I had yet to see the top when I realized I was climbing toward Heaven.
All my labors, all my trials, all the pain, all the suffering was turning to gold. All the perseverance and struggle and contending had obtained for me a Robe of Righteousness. Not that I had clothed myself but that the King of Glory was changing what once was in this world to match the Heavenly. Each step was from one degree of Glory to another.
As I looked back I was amazed at how far I had come. I was not able to see the bottom or the top. The Spirit of the Lord within me spoke to remind me that all my work, all my labor, all my pressing on, was not in vain. I Corinthians 15:58: "Therefore my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, our labor is not in vain."
I had truly been laying up treasures in Heaven. He had changed my own efforts at righteousness into His Glorious Robe of Righteousness. He had changed my path to something of eternal value.
He opened my eyes to see from the earthly into the Heavenly and that in and through Him I AM obtaining the Crown of Life. James 1:12: "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test he will receive the Crown of Life which God has promised to those who love him."
I may not be able to see the landing at the top of the stairway this day. However, by faith and one day taking on substance, I will reach my destination and have that eternal Crown placed upon my head as I step into Glory... then I will cast my Crown... all that I am... all I ever was... all that I have... at the feet of my Lord and King, Jesus, the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Read Revelation 4:10&11.
