Story time, folks! But this is no run of the mill bed time story to lull you to sleep, instead it is a true account guaranteed to stir one’s soul. While many in North America, may have heard it already, it still brings tears to the eye every single time it is retold/heard.
In the late 19th century, it was very nasty and stormy one night as heavy rains lashed a small hotel in Philadelphia. An elderly man and woman approached the registration desk. Their question was, “Do you have room for us tonight?” Then with a slight pause, the woman briefly explained, “We have been to some of the larger hotels, and they are all full.”
The clerk namely George C.Boldt explained that there were several conventions in town at the time, and indeed no rooms were available anywhere in Philadelphia that particular night. He also pointed out to them that all of the rooms in his hotel were full as well. But the clerk went on, “I wouldn’t feel right about turning you out on such a nasty night. Would you be willing to sleep in my personal room?”
The couple was taken back at the generous offer and didn’t know how to respond. The young man insisted that he would be able to get along just fine if only they would use his room. The next day as the elderly couple was checking out, the man told the young clerk, “You are the kind of man who should be the manager of the best hotel in the country. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.” They all smiled at the little joke, and then the clerk helped them carry their bags out to the street to load into their car.
Two years later, the clerk received a letter from the old man. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident, but the letter recalled that night and his kindness. The letter also included a round trip ticket to New York City with the request that he come to be their guest for a visit.
When the young clerk reached New York City, there to meet him was the elderly couple. The old man drove him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street and pointed to a beautiful new building. It was like a palace of reddish stone with turrets and watchtowers like a castle.
The older man said, “That is the hotel I have built for you to manage.” “You must be joking,” the young man said. He couldn’t believe what he heard. The old man said, “I am not joking.” And simply stood there and smiled. The young man asked, “Who are you that you can do this?“
Talk of Boldt receiving a bolt from the blue…a pleasant one though… The old man, in all humility and poise, replied “William Waldorf Astor”. One of the richest man in the world during his time.
This was the Original Waldorf-Astoria of New York City, the hotel made just to return a ‘kindness’ given.
And here he was, Mr. George C. Boldt,( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Boldt ) the young clerk with a big heart, and he went on to become the proprietor of that historic hotel. And now dear friends, if a good, aristocratic man would keep up his word when it came to rewarding a kind act, would not the Almighty, oh-so-rich God, who always fulfils His promises (Joshua 21:45), keep-up His word in the matter of giving crowns to His faithful ones’? So in the Scriptures, how many types of crowns do we see reserved for his diligent servants, and what are they? In the Scriptures, we see 5 types of crowns.
1. The Incorruptible Crown
2. The Crown of rejoicing
3. The Crown of glory
4. The Crown of life
5. The Crown of righteousness
While some crowns would be rewarded exclusively to some categories of Christians, there are some Crowns which do not entail any special eligibility rules; as such any Christian can aspire for the same. In a series form, I intend to take the readership on a “flight of meditation” over the next few weeks. So fasten your seat belts… Let us reflect on them one by one…
Join us next week for THE CROWNING GLORY, Part 2: The Incorruptible Crown.
Suresh Manoharan
http://www.jandsmministries.com
(To access the entire “The Crowning Glory” mini-series, please click here.)