To Encourage You

Colossians 2:5 “For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit . . .”

The words above were written by the apostle Paul as he languished in a Roman prison.  The sad fact was that he longed to spend time with the Colossian church, a church whom he had never met in person, but whom he had heard about from his friend Epaphras.  So, what did he mean with the words we commonly hear even today “I am with you in spirit”?  Today when we say these words, we often mean that we’re thinking about someone. We want them to know that we care about them and would like to reach out to them physically if we could, but we just can’t because of present circumstances.  However, for the believer, they mean much more than this.  All believers have a wonderful spiritual relationship with every other Christian on earth, whether we’ve ever met them or not.  We are “with them” in the sense that we are spiritually related to them. They are our spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ. We are of the same Father, and that Father is with them just as much as He is with us. 

Then, we can be with other believers in prayer. You see, there is no distance in the spirit world. As we think about other believers around the world, we need not pine away helplessly as we hear about their hardships. We can have a significant impact on their lives by praying for them.  Our Father hears our prayers for them, and He responds for this is exactly what He has promised (James 5:16). 

Then we are “with them” in the sense that we are of the same Body.  We need them and they need us, just as God has arranged it.  When we think of others in hardship, e.g., for those who are suffering in North Korean prisons because of their faith, the Bible tells us to “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body” (Hebrews 13:5).  With this God has told us to, as much as is possible, put ourselves in their place, and then act accordingly.  Obeying our Lord’s instruction, we should do for them as we’d like them to do for us if we were in that same situation.  That may mean continual and earnest prayer. It may mean intervention of some sort, through such things as letter writing to them or to those in the government who have some power over their situation.  It could also mean reaching out to others in their family or church with encouragement, prayer, and physical help. 

One other thought about all of this is that we should always remember that the scriptures are not just the words of the apostles and prophets who wrote down the words, but much more than that, they are the very Words of Christ written through them.  In terms of the little phrase “For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit,” isn’t that exactly how it is with Christ Himself.  Although He is indeed absent right now in that He is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven, He is still with us, very much with us, in the person of the Holy Spirit.  And His Spirit is not just with us, He is in us (John 14:17).  Though we can’t see Him with our physical eyes, if we have eyes of faith, we know that “He will never leave us nor forsake us” (Hebrews 13:5).  He is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).  He is with each and every one of us, all the time in every place, in spirit.  What a wonderful truth this is!

May God encourage us to remember this today and every day. And may He remind us to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ in spirit, no matter where they may be located physically, as our powerful, omnipresent God has made it possible for us.