I always thank my God
for you and for the gracious gifts he has given you, now that you belong to
Christ Jesus. Through him, God has enriched your church in every
way—with all of your eloquent words and all of your knowledge. This
confirms that what I told you about Christ is true. Now you have
every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord
Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:4-7
The other day, someone asked me how do you stay young? That’s a pretty loaded question considering that
I will soon turn fifty, but nonetheless, I took it as an opportunity to share
some of the things that have helped me maintain a youthful attitude. One of those things focused on the appreciation
of others. Why would that be important
to my own youthfulness? You see, it is
very easy to focus on the things that go on in your own life. However when you focus on the wonderful and
brilliance of others, you go beyond affecting your own life. You directly impact the mood and ambitions of
someone else as well. There is nothing
more powerful to say to another person than I love you, and yet, I believe
there is nothing more motivating to another person than to say, “I appreciate
you.”
God expects us to appreciate the potential of all people
through Jesus Christ. When reading the
words of Paul, I love how great an encourager he is. At the beginning of 1 Corinthians, he
displayed an ‘attitude of gratitude’ to the church of Corinth and its
people. Reading his words, you have the
feeling of a deep relationship he has with them. Paul shows genuine love and appreciation for
them, and if we were members of that early church, we would feel a great deal of
encouragement and strength from him. Furthermore,
Paul himself gained strength from them as well.
Thus, the relationship between Paul and the church was mutually
beneficial. As such, our words of
appreciation for others have similar effects.
They can strengthen relationships, inspire others, and break down
barriers! What can be more encouraging
to a person struggling with something than to hear they are loved and despite
their struggles, they are appreciated for what they have brought in your life.
We are to appreciate others for it is paramount to building
God’s Kingdom. Peter, who correctly
identified Jesus as the Messiah, had to feel encouraged as Jesus responded to
him in appreciation saying, “You are blessed, Simon son
of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not
learn this from any human being. Now I say to you
that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my
church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew
16:17-18) Appreciating others is
necessary for and if we accept and love Christ, our hearts will be transformed
such that we will see the greatness of not only others but also within
ourselves. And what can be better than
seeing how great we can be through Christ?
Who could you show greater appreciation for? How can you allow God to help you appreciate
others? My prayer is that we open our
hearts where we become an ‘Appreciation Station.’ Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment