The Great Connect!

I notice a lot of people driving around while talking on cell phones to people somewhere else. It is even interesting to see a car full of people seeming to enjoy each other’s company while one person in the vehicle is yakking away on a phone to someone who knows where? Even though they are within whispering distance of others, they busily talk to another somewhere else. Today I was struck by the sight of a car with a man (driving) and woman (riding) in the front seat and they were both on cell phones. Since they certainly didn’t need the phones to talk to each other I couldn’t help wondering if perhaps they each wished they were elsewhere.

Between cell phones (for calls and text messaging) and computers (for e-mail and instant messaging) people can easily keep in touch with others wherever they might be. However, with all the capabilities of connectivity with others it is amazing how distanced some people are. It is possible for two people to be in the same room and still be very distant from each other just as if there were a giant uncrossable chasm actually dividing the room. Then there are others who may be on opposite sides of the world and yet be as CLOSE AS A HEARTBEAT. On the one hand we find the “Great Divide” and on the other the “Great Connect.”

Connecting with others really has less to do with spatial distance as it does SINCERITY OF HEART. There can be a strong link between lives that defies boundaries of time zones and geography. It is even possible to connect empathetically with people we may have never met. And it is God who created us to possess this capacity. What marks the personal experience in our life?

As Paul wrote to the church at Colosse, he was a prisoner at Rome. ( Colossians 4:3 & 10) In spite of his chains ( Colossians 4:18) and the miles and time that distanced him from these brethren, he maintained a SINCERE HEART connection not only with those he had met in his previous labors there, but he also struggled for those he had not met face to face. ( Colossians 2:1) It was their shared faith in the truth of Christ that created such a strong bond. As Paul encouraged them he was in turn encouraged by their faith.

Paul wrote…
“For THOUGH I AM ABSENT IN BODY, yet I AM WITH YOU IN SPIRIT, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” ( Colossians 2:5 ESV)

Though “in spirit” is the literal translation, the New Living Translation reads “For though I am far away from you, MY HEART IS WITH YOU.” [NLT, 1997. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House]

The great blessing God has brought into my life through His ministry of “teEn-MAIL” is the opportunity to encourage and be encouraged by brothers and sisters from around the world, many of whom I may never meet this side of Heaven. Let us recognize how powerful our connection of HEART with one another can be in the Lord. For Jesus to sincerely mean something to us individually, we should mean something to each other as members of the Body of which He is the Head. Being linked together in Him is the greatest connection we could possibly have. May we be a source of mutual encouragement to one another whether we be geographically near or far.

Have a great day STRENGTHENED IN THE SPIRIT OF FELLOWSHIP IN CHRIST!
Carl

See other teEn-MAIL on Relationships