about long distance relationships...
July 25, 2003
okay, so i don't actually have a long distance relationship in a romantic sense. but i came upon this today while praying with chung. the past two septembers have been particularly hard for me when i came to the realization that my close friends would soon be leaving me (proximity wise). i worried that the distance would take its toll on our relationship with one another. how can you get closer to someone when you're far apart from them? it seems like an incredibly difficult task. and it is.
but what the Spirit opened my eyes to was this: there is no physical distance greater than the distance from us to God - He created the ENTIRE universe and we are on one small speck of it. so the physical distance between us is incredible. however, we can still draw close to God despite that enormous physical distance, through various ways. in fact, the distance makes no difference at all. in the same way, our long distance relationships with one another can parallel this truth. no matter how far apart we are physically, don't worry! it's possible that we could draw even CLOSER than before, and come to a deeper place of intimacy with one another.
that's just awesome. i've never looked at it in that way before. the unity and love between fellow believers in Christ is stronger than any distance on this earth! but when we are apart from one another, the times of fellowship that we do have with one another are just that much MORE cherished than if we constantly saw one another, because we all take things for granted. and in the time that we are apart from one another, God could be doing amazing things in our lives, and what joy and encouragement does it bring to us when we hear about these God stories in the lives of our dear friends?
i love the way paul describes his relationship with the colossian church, "For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is." (colossians 2:5 [NIV] i think we could all stand to learn from that mentality :)
Posted by Leo Chan at July 25, 2003 12:03 AM
