Our Daily Bread Devotional 22 December 2021 | Virtual Presence

Read Our Daily Bread Devotional for Thursday 22 December 2021 titled Virtual Presence to uplift your spirit and soul in this season.

KEY NOTE: Though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit. Colossians 2:5

Today’s Scripture: Colossians 2:1–5

INSIGHT

As the novel coronavirus marched across the globe, health experts advised increased physical distance between people as a means to slow the spread. Many countries asked their citizens to self-quarantine or shelter in place. Organizations sent employees home to work remotely if they could, while others suffered a financially debilitating loss of employment. Like others, I participated in church and small-group meetings through digital platforms. As a world, we practiced new forms of togetherness despite being physically disconnected.

It isn’t just the internet that lets us maintain a sense of connection. We connect to one another as members of the body of Christ through the Spirit. Paul expressed this notion centuries ago in his letter to the Colossians. Though he hadn’t personally founded their church, he cared deeply for them and their faith. And even though Paul couldn’t be with them in person, he reminded them that he was “present with [them] in spirit” (Colossians 2:5).

We can’t always be with those we love for financial, health, or other practical reasons, and technology can help fill that gap. Yet any form of virtual connection pales in comparison to the “togetherness” we can experience as fellow members of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). In such moments, we can, like Paul, rejoice in one another’s firmness of faith and, through prayer, encourage each other to fully “know the mystery of God, namely, Christ” (Colossians 2:2). By: Kirsten Holmberg

Bible in a Year: Micah 6–7, Revelation 13

REFLECT: How have you experienced a sense of connection with other members of the body of Christ? Who needs your prayers of encouragement today?

PRAYER: Jesus, thank You for being with me even when no other person can be physically present. Thank You for the connection You give me to others through the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for reading Our Daily Bread Devotional 22 December 2021 titled Virtual Presence. Have a blessed day.