Day Five

Day Five // February 22 // The Crowned Head of Christ

“The strong hands of God twisted the crown of thorns into a crown of glory; and in such hands we are safe.” – Charles Williams –

He was the Lord of lords and the King of kings. But His crown was not one of gold. It was one of thorns. It was a diadem that sparkled not with the regal red of rubies, but with the crimson spangle of sacred blood. It was a mockery. It was a farce. Coronated in ridicule and scorn, the Savior humbly offered His holy brow to the very ones He’d come to save… but they were unaware.

They were unaware that the One whom they scourged had healed sick. They were unaware that the One they mocked had calmed the seas. The world was unaware that the One they rejected had come to invite them in. And the invitation still lingers.

It is a call to holiness. It is a call to righteousness. It is a call to freedom and meaning and hope. It is a call

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to joy – to a life, to the only life worth living. But in order to pursue that transformed way of living, we must submit to a new way of thinking. In fact, earlier in his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul commanded the Church to live, to think, to want, to will with the same mind as that which was in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5-11).

For this path of faith, this way of sanctification is not merely about our outer actions. It is just as much about – if not more so about – our thoughts, attitudes, and intentions. It’s about the “why” behind the “what.” Obedience rather than power. Humility instead of pride.

And in surrendering His head, His mind to the petty whimsies of earth, Jesus, in fact, offered His loyalty to God. His wasn’t to strike back – though He could have. His wasn’t to seek revenge. It was to seek the lost, to offer Himself as a living sacrifice for all – we – who couldn’t save ourselves.

It is to this consecrated pilgrimage that faith (not just Lent) calls us: to offer our whole selves – mind, body, and soul – to the pleasure and power of the Almighty.