As we pass a busy farm I take note of a row of 5 tombstones with a neat little wrought iron fence around them, in the middle of a wheat field. That family will not let the memory of their dead fade away.
I am prompted to take a side trip to the plots of my father's family. There, the oldest tombstone belongs to my great grandfather. Blustery winter winds have all but erased the etchings on its stone face. Great grandpa's life has faded, as has his marker. However, when Jesus hands out those crowns of glory, his crown will never fade away.
The crown of glory Peter describes is not the jeweled crown of royalty. It is an evergreen wreath awarded to athletes, or bestowed upon retiring civil servants for years of faithful service. But even an evergreen wreath will fade, as you know if you hang pine boughs at Christmas.
The crown of glory that you receive from Jesus will never fade away. The Greek word for unfading, *amarantos, was a fabled flower that did not fade away.
What a simple picture of eternal glory
Nancy
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*The Complete Word Study New Testament editor Spiro Zodiates p.884