HEARTLIGHT ® Magazine: Together In His Grace: "Words of Affirmation"

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Words of Affirmation
“He said to me, you are my son.” by Scott Owings

    Who are you and what is your purpose in life?

    Contrary to popular opinion, life is not defined by job, status, or accomplishments. Our identity and self worth come from knowing whose we are; beloved children of Father-God.

    As a young boy, I had no greater joy than to be introduced by my dad as, "this is my boy". This introduction would make me feel secure, proud, and loved. These words also helped shape my identity and pointed the way to who I was to become, the son of my father. As I grew older, this understanding of being a loved son gave me confidence to spread my wings and fly. When I fell, I knew that I was still a loved son. Being sure of who I was also helped me get up and take the risk again. We must never underestimate the power of the spoken word!

    In speaking of the upcoming Messiah, the psalmist foresaw the spoken words that God the Father would speak to his beloved Son, Jesus: "your are my beloved son and with you I am well pleased." These spoken words painted a thousand pictures for Jesus: where he was from, why he was on the earth, and what he would be doing in the future.

    As parents, we too must tell our children that they are ours and that we love them. This will affirm their identity and empower them to grow up with a sense of purpose.

1 Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds asunder, and cast their cords from us.”

4 He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”

7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron, and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear, with trembling
12 kiss his feet, or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way; for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Happy are all who take refuge in him.

© 1998 by HEARTLIGHT® Inc. Bible text is from The New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989). Used by permission