Affirmation – 2 Corinthians 7:4a

Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.

Affirmation lifts the soul, encourages the heart, and soothes the mind.

Therefore, breathe words of affirmation into your spouse, children, and friends.  With love and grace, strive to give them a sense of their worth as those who are precious to God, considered beautiful, rare, and lovely.  Help them comprehend that they are His joy and delight, considered so valuable that He gave His only Son to purchase them that He might bring them into His kingdom.  Prove yourself a good and faithful steward of the gifts God, in His grace, has entrusted to you as a part of the body of Christ.[1] Build up others, so they might reach their potential as vital and contributing parts of the same body.[2]

Consider how a flower garden thrives when a nurturing hand cultivates and waters it, protecting and preserving it.  Just as this well-tended garden will bloom into a brilliant profusion of color, radiating the glory of God, so can your kindness and exhortation help others blossom into the magnificent creations the Lord designed them to be.  For no one who loves flowers would trample on tender young plants, breaking them off before they could grow to maturity.  Nor should we snap off the budding gifts of others as they develop and exercise them according to the measure of grace God has given to them.[3]  As one would construct an arbor for fragile climbing vines, imbue confidence into others with wisdom and kindheartedness, so they might reach towering heights.[4]

Make it your magnificent labor of love to bring out the glory of God in others.  Honor them; love them.[5]  Treat them as rare and delicate roses, lovely in the eyes of God.  Nurture them with patience, water them with kindness, and tend to them with compassion, encouragement, and support.  Treasure them.  Enrich their soil with gladness, knowing that as you give your strength to help them grow strong, you will not only share in the joy of a relationship grounded in Christ-centered devotion, you will be planting imperishable flowers in heaven, which you will enjoy throughout eternity.

[1] 1 Peter 4:10

[2] Ephesians 4:16

[3] Romans 12:6-8

[4] Proverbs 14:1

[5] 1 Peter 2:17