As grandparents, we have an important role in the lives of our grandchildren. And if we desire to fill that role well, one of the things we must do is practice God-centered affirmation.
In last week’s Part 1 post, we looked at some of the elements of God-centered affirmation:
- What it is
- Why it’s important to our grandchildren
- How to do it
We also considered four characteristics of good affirmations. One of which is that our affirmations need to be God-centered.
Recall that God-centered affirmations require us to pay attention watching for godly characteristics to commend. As well, the purpose of God-centered affirmations is to glorify God by refreshing and motivating our grandchildren as we disciple them.
“Perhaps the best way to curb our bent for picking at others’ faults is simply to go out of our way to say good things about them – not by being insincere or buttering people up, and not be being blind to their imperfections, but simply by paying attention and making the effort to voice what we notice.”
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, Adorned
Commending the “Commendable”
We might begin by asking the question, “What is ‘commendable?’”
In order to answer that question, let’s look back at that last paragraph above.
There we see that we are to commend godly characteristics.
To do this… we must be about the business of paying attention so that we will see the character of Jesus manifested in our grandchildren. THEN, we must make it a point to commend what we’ve seen.
What is Christlike Character?
It is important to note that in order to commend the qualities of Jesus that we witness being reproduced in the lives of our grandchildren, it is crucial that we, ourselves, know the Bible.
This work of practicing God-centered affirmation requires our time and effort. We MUST be in God’s Word in order to know and identify Christlike characteristics. There is no simple checklist to mark, no roster to memorize.
Christlike Characteristics
While there is no complete catalog of Christlike characteristics, to get you started find below a few examples of qualities that we should be looking for and affirming in the lives of our grandchildren:
- Alertness
- Attentiveness
- Attitude
- Authenticity
- Availability
- Carefulness
- Cheerfulness
- Compassion
- Courage
- Courteousness
- Creativity
- Dependability
- Development
- Diligence
- Discernment
- Encouragement
- Endurance
- Enthusiasm
- Faithfulness
- Forgiveness
- Friendliness
- Gentleness
- Generosity
- Godliness
- Grace-filled
- Healthiness
- Honesty
- Honor
- Hospitality
- Humility
- Integrity
- Initiative
- joyfulness
- Kindness
- Nobility
- Obedience
- Orderliness
- Others-centered
- Patience
- Reasoning
- Resourcefulness
- Respectfulness
- Responsibility
- Righteousness
- Stewardship
- Strength
- Teachable
- Thankfulness
- Thoughtfulness
- Trustworthiness
- Truthfulness
- Virtuousness
- Wisdom
- Zealousness
Helpful Resources
30-Day Developing Godly Character Scripture Study by Kaylene Yoder
The Character of God: A Study of Who God Is by Sarah Morrison
6 comments
Patsy Burnette
Deborah, I love this comprehensive list of Christlike characteristics! And I clicked over to Kaylene Yoder’s blog and found a new blog to follow. ???? Thank you so much and thanks for linking up at InstaEncouragements!
Laurie
Thank you for your good suggestions on how to be a good grandparent and to set examples of Christlike characteristics for our grandchildren. I have 3 grandsons and love the encouragement.
Susan Nelson
As a “Mimi” to three grandchildren, this is great advice. I pray that I will be a good example to them and that they will be disciples of Christ.
Deborah
Laurie, sorry for the delay. Quite wrapped up in watching 3 of my “grands” for the past few days. Thank you for taking the time to offer your own words of encouragement to me. Isn’t it something, how a little encouragement fuels us all? Thank you for stopping by the blog!
Deborah
Susan, what a lovely and powerful prayer! Joining you in prayer today for your 3 “grands” and for you!
Deborah
Ooh, Patsy! Don’t you love it when you find someone new to follow and glean from? I’ve been following Kaylene for several years. She offers much wisdom and practical help! Thank you for stopping by today!