“But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.” I Thessalonians 2:17
Physically, Paul was separated from the people he loved in Thessalonica. As Paul describes it he was “taken away” for a short time. Literally, the Greek word used here means “torn away” and is the origin of our English word “orphan.” Paul is trying to convey here a feeling of deep-seated emotion. Like an orphan who had suddenly lost both parents, he had a sense of abandonment and bewilderment at his loss. God desires for his people to have such an intense love for one another that they cannot wait to be together and even mourn when they are apart. Each member of the body of Christ has a gift to minister to the others and when one is not there, the whole body suffers. There is an expression that goes like the following: “you don’t really know what you have until it’s gone.” Dear brothers and sisters don’t take each other for granted. We really do need each other.
Pray: “Lord Jesus, cause us to be mindful of the need to be together as a corporate body. Give us a love for one another that will cause the world to exclaim as they did at the time of the early church: ‘behold how they love one another.’”