The Crown of Favor

Drawing by Marla Shaw O’Neill

A crown of thorn and thistles

Placed upon my head

A lowly life and surviving is all I knew

Hungry beggar living in the streets

Unwanted, no one greets

Alone, destitute, dirty with no place to sleep

Wandering, meaningless no longer weeps

This was the way of the transgressor in the dark, filthy streets

Picking through the garbage for food, a book caught my eye

It was torn and worn and pages gone, just like me, so I took it home

Home to Vagabond Lane

I learned to read from a bag lady, she, once had been a teacher in society

Hard times came and she was left to fend for herself just like me…

Down the Alley of Tears, I found a quiet place

Opened the book and stared straight into the face

Of a man who wore a Crown of thorns~

It said, they took his clothes and beat him beyond belief

Then shoved the crown into His head~

They called Him, “King of the Jews!”

The crown I wore was nothing compared to the one He wore, and so,

I read on from the stained pages of the book…

This man, a King, had suffered many things~ but His life had meaning~

I read on and saw that this King was kind, full of hope and did the most miraculous

Things~

He had not come to serve, but to serve~

He loved, and they killed Him for it~

Then there on the pages of this worn old book~

I looked and saw these amazing words, and I shook~

Jesus was not dead, but alive~~

Right there in the Alley of Tears, I finally understood

It’s not how destitute my life had been, how broken and lost or pain within

And in my heart I took a long, hard look~

That very moment Jesus took…

My crown of thorns and brought me to Him~

He took His Crown of Favor and gently placed it on my head~

And then He said, “Take up your cross and follow me~

The road will be rocky, but in the end, there will be no more suffering~

In humility I stood with my new crown of Favor and walked down

The Alley of Tears to the street called, No Fear~

A man on the corner said, “I see you’ve met the King, you’re wearing His

Crown of Favor~

You’re coming home with me…

You see…

When you say yes to King Jesus, favor’s your best friend

No longer vagabond, or transgressor~

You’re royalty in the family of God~

~Marla Shaw O’Neill April 12, 2019

Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:4-6

The soldiers assigned to the governor took Jesus into the governor’s palace and got the entire brigade together for some fun. They stripped him and dressed him in a red toga. They plaited a crown from branches of a thorn bush and set it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand for a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mocking reverence: “Bravo, King of the Jews!” they said. “Bravo!” Then they spit on him and hit him on the head with the stick. When they had had their fun, they took off the toga and put his own clothes back on him. Then they proceeded out to the crucifixion. Matthew 27:29-31