A Crown that Lasts: You Are Not Your Label

 

 

The invitation has been given, the plan has been provided, and the purpose is clear.

In her debut book, Demi Leigh Tebow gathers the unique layers of her life and unfolds it one page at a time, all while weaving the gift of Jesus and his plan for all of us. When grounded in Jesus, we can fully take hold of our identity and rest in the truth that we belong to him! The four parts of her book, Dig, Plant, Grow, and Flourish, wisely and eloquently lead us to understand better who Demi is and, more importantly, to whom she belongs!

Through A Crown that Lasts, she shares the joy and privilege of literally wearing a crown as Miss South Africa and Miss Universe. She also provides multiple life experiences to encourage others on their journey and ultimately reminds us we are not alone. God has a plan, and knowing how much you matter to God is the most impactful and important knowledge you can apply to your life. No earthly crown can compare to the one that lasts: eternal life with Jesus.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. [25] Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 ESV)

“Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NLT)

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NIV)

I love how she discusses sparking purposeful living on page 235 under the subtitle Recap. This is not the ‘Live your best, most excellent life for you’ mentality. It’s actually the opposite. It’s about doing all we do to honour God. Demi rightfully reminds us of Colossians 3:17,

“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

We do what we do in our lives as believers to bring honour and glory to him, which is hard to do on our own. We don’t need to—we have the Holy Spirit as our helper! Take a moment to look up these verses about the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38
John 14:26
Romans 8:26
Galatians 5:22-23
Acts 1:8

This quote from Demi is a beautiful reminder that we can fully trust God right now no matter what we are facing,

 

“While self-confidence has its benefits and value, what I have learned is that relying on self-confidence alone for your identity is unsustainable. I propose a different type of confidence not based on ego but rooted in Someone who is all-powerful, all-knowing, always present, and unchanging! A person worthy of attaching our identity to: God. I call this type of confidence “God-confidence.” And the definition is simple: to have full trust in who God is! To have full trust in who God is leaves no room for trust in self. You can only take this so far…let’s exchange our superficial self-confidence for a supernatural God-confidence and root ourselves in a crown and identity that will last for all of eternity.”[1]

 

Here is a beautiful song, Running Back to You, by my cousin’s (Cliff Cline) daughter (she is basically my niece!) Kenzie Cline. She just debuted this song, and I thought it would be a perfect time to include her music today to remind us to run back to HIM!

 

 

 

 

[1] Tebow, Demi Leigh. A Crown That Lasts: You Are Not Your Label. W Publishing, an Imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2024. p.23-24