A Starry Crown

“Everyone they have been the means of saving, adds stars to their crown in glory, and increases their eternal reward.” 1T 197

“It is their privilege to have stars in their crown because of souls saved through their instrumentality.” 3T 94

“There will be no one saved in heaven with a starless crown. If you enter, there will be some soul in the courts of glory that has found an entrance there through your instrumentality.” ST June 6, 1892.

I vividly remember as a young child my parents telling me that when we get to heaven, each of us will have a crown. Some crowns would be heavy with stars and jewels while others would have just a few. They went on to explain that these stars represented each of the people we had brought to Jesus. I always thought, “Wow! I want a crown heavy with stars! I want lots and lots of them! I want it to have so many that it glistens brightly in the sunshine.” It might sound like a prideful wish from a little child. After all, it seems very “unheavenlike” to go around showing others all your stars and how many people you had won to Jesus. But it wasn’t the pride and glamour that was going through my head. I guess I just couldn’t bear the thought of getting to heaven and when looking at my crown with few or no stars realize that I had done so little for Christ and His kingdom. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have to tell Christ that I never shared His love with anyone, that I never shared with others what He meant to me, and that I had never brought someone to know Him. How could I really enjoy heaven to its fullest when I realized that though I had gotten there myself, I had brought no one with me? I resolved in my mind that in light of all that He had done for me, I wanted to do something for Him and the least I could do was to tell someone else about Him. But I didn’t know where to begin. Of course, I could witness in my own childish way, but I wanted to do something bigger and better. I wanted to be able to see that I had made a difference in someone’s life.

As I grew older, the thought of wanting to win someone to Christ never left my mind. I remember when my sister began doing Bible work and told me that the absolute best experience one could ever have was seeing someone you had studied the Bible with and prayed for make the stand to follow Christ is baptism. Oh, how I wanted that, but being rather timid of meeting strangers, feeling that I didn’t have the talents and skills of some, and realizing I didn’t always know the “right thing” to say, I wondered if I would ever be able to experience that childhood dream.

As most of you know, after graduating from college, I went to ARISE to attend their 3 ½ month Bible worker training program. I was determined in my mind that I wanted to be used by Christ to win souls—even if it was just one—to Christ. It wasn’t easy knocking on stranger’s doors. I realized that I didn’t always have the “right things” to say and I often wished I had the knowledge and skills of others. But I was determined to use whatever talents and gifts God had given me to His glory for the salvation of souls. The results? Well, they would just be up to God.

After the 3 ½ month course, I stayed on for a year to continue doing Bible work. Throughout the year, God led me to study with so many wonderful people. I began seeing that while not everyone was at the point in their life to make the full surrender to Christ in baptism, the little decisions along the way were just as important and were what was needed for that larger step. With many of my contacts, I saw those little steps that daily reminded me that God was working and that as long as I continued to allow God to use me, then He would bring about the results. But in the back of mind, I still had that childish dream—I wanted to see one soul make that full surrender to Christ in baptism. But that was something only God could do. I would just have to be patient.

In my last post, I wrote a lengthy section about Anne who I had been studying with over the past year. While I didn’t know it at the time, Anne would be the answer to my longtime, childish dream. She was the soul God had in mind to be the first star in my crown. I can honestly take no credit for what God did in her life. It was all Him that did it. The only thing I did was allow Christ to use me. Oh, what an awesome privilege.

One week ago today, I went back to Troy to experience Anne’s baptism. As can be expected, the devil was mad and did what he could to prevent her baptism. Anne’s husband Jay had been struggling at first with her decision for baptism. We postponed her baptism a couple of months to give him time to accept her decision and support her in what she felt God was calling. God is good and Jay finally agreed for her to go through with it. He even agreed to support her by being there Sabbath morning. However, early that morning, he got seriously ill and had to check himself into the emergency room. When I got to church, Anne and her children where there in spite of all the morning’s events. Her faith was strong and she insisted that she was going through with her decision. We only prayed that Jay would be released from the hospital in time to make it back to her baptism. Miraculously, he showed up in time for it and was there to support her. God is amazing!

The baptism was beautiful…one of the most incredible ones I have experienced. The look on Anne’s face was radiant—one filled with peace and happiness. After her baptism she told me, “Autumn, this was one of the best days of my life. I will never forget this day. I cannot begin to describe to you what it felt like to be in that water. It was amazing!” And it was truly amazing —not just for her, but for me as well. The pastor asked me after the baptism what it felt like to see someone you had studied with and prayed for make that decision. I told him it was incredible, but also very humbling. I realize I am not the most qualified individual out there. I realize I make mistakes. I realize there is so much need of growth in my own personal walk with Christ. But in spite of all these limitations, God saw it fit to use me to share the love of Jesus with someone else. That indeed is humbling!

As I have been writing this whole account, my eyes are filled with tears—tears of happiness. My childhood dream of seeing just one person come to know Jesus as the result of God using little ol’ me has come true. But I guess the dream has not completely come true…I still want a crown that is packed full of stars. Not so that I can go around and show them off. Oh, no! It is because I realize that as Paul says, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” And as Mrs. White states, “To save souls should be the life work of every one who professes Christ. We are debtors to the world for the grace given us of God, for the light which has shone upon us, and for the discovered beauty and power of the truth.” Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 53. I owe it to the world to share the love of Jesus. I don’t want to get to heaven and realize I have done nothing for Christ for the salvation of souls. That would not be heaven! Instead, I want to be able to cast my crown, filled with stars and jewels, at Jesus’ feet, and exclaim, “Worthy, worthy, is the Lamb that was slain. You did all this for me. This was the least that I could do for you.”

In closing, I want to leave you with just a few quotes that have inspired me and challenged me to keep pressing forward in sharing Christ’s love with others.

“God could have reached His object in saving sinners without our aid; but in order for us to develop a character like Christ's, we must share in His work. In order to enter into His joy—the joy of seeing souls redeemed by His sacrifice—we must participate in His labors for their redemption.” —The Desire of Ages, p. 142.

“As His representatives among men, Christ does not choose angels who have never fallen, but human beings, men of like passions with those they seek to save. Christ took upon Himself humanity, that He might reach humanity. Divinity needed humanity; for it required both the divine and the human to bring salvation to the world. Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between God and man.” —The Desire of Ages, p. 296.

“With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in whole-hearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God's love.” —The Desire of Ages, p. 297.

“But those who live for God and heaven, pointing out the way of life to others, will find that the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. And they will hear by and by the welcome invitation, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." The joy of Christ was that of seeing souls saved in His glorious kingdom; and for this joy He "endured the cross, despising the shame." But soon "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." How happy will those be, who, having shared in His work, are permitted to share in His joy! —R. & H., June 23, 1885.