We often hear this saying: absence makes the heart grow fonder. It is used to describe a couple who have been together for a long time. When they were dating, there were sparks. After many years, holding hands felt like the left hand holding the right hand. But if there arises a circumstance that causes them to be separated for a period of time, their relationship grows. They will try to find pockets of time to give each other a call, to build a relationship and talk to each other. Although they have to be separated temporarily, it causes their relationship to be better than when they were first married. A few years ago, some European researchers looked into phone call data from a certain country. They hypothesised that there was a correlation between how good the callers’ relationship were and the length of their phone calls. They were trying to find the following out: when two parties face a crisis, will they spend more time to grow their relationship? They found out that it was indeed true when two were separated, they would spend more time to make phone calls to invest in their relationship. This is likely the experience for many of us. When we find our relationship is in a crisis/trouble, we would spend more time to work on it. It was also found that when two people are separated for a long period and time is not spent to keep it growing, the relationship will slowly fade away.

1 Thess 2:17
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.
Paul tells the believers even though they were physically separate, they were not separate in spirit. What exactly happened in the church of Thessalonica?

Acts 17:5-10
When Paul and Silas went to Thessalonica to preach the gospel, some people believed in Jesus when they heard. Some of the Jews who were not persuaded took some evil men to stir up trouble because they were envious. How did they do this? They said Paul and Silas were preaching another King - Jesus - which would create trouble for them since Caesar was ruling. Upon hearing this, the people related to Paul (e.g. Jason) were dragged to the rulers of the city. Quickly in the night, the brethren sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. When Paul was writing 1 Thessalonians, the background of the people in Thessalonica was that they had not believed for a long time and their foundation was not solid yet. Paul was worried the persecutions they faced would topple their faith. He described himself as a parent who cared for the faith of his children. He was very worried because he did not know the state of the faith of his children. He was so worried, he wanted to go to the church of Thessalonica a few times but wasn’t able to make it. He could not bear not doing anything anymore, so he sent Timothy there to find out their state. After hearing the state of their faith from Timothy, Paul was delighted that they was standing strong.

We have been stuck at home for a long time. We have not been able to meet our parents, friends and brethren. We may not be able to understand how their lives have been like. Not knowing the state of the believers caused Paul much worry, especially when they were facing persecution. He really had a heart of a parent, and went through all means to find out how they were doing. When he was unable to make the trip himself, he didn’t just give up, he sent Timothy to find out how they were doing.

1 Thess 3:8
For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.
What Paul said is something we should ponder on. What did it mean? That if he did not know of their situation, it would be like he were dead? Recall the story of Joseph. Jacob thought his precious son Joseph was dead. When Joseph sent people to bring the family to the land of Egypt, the Bible records that the heart of Jacob came back to life. Because of what he thought happened to Joseph, Jacob lived life as if he was dead; as if it had no meaning. When he found out Joseph was alive and had sent people to bring them to Egypt, his heart came back to life. That is the heart of a father who loves his children, just like Paul whose heart became alive when he heard the good news of the Thessalonians’ faith and love.

Phil 2:25-26
Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need; since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.
Another example: Epaphroditus. He was a believer of the church of Philippi; he was sent to render aid to Paul. He was indeed a person who was mindful of the things of the Lord Jesus. Even though he was gravely ill, he wasn’t worried about himself but for the believers in Phillipi who were concerned for him. He had the same heart as the believers in Philippi. We know Paul was in prison at that time. But being a Roman citizen, his imprisonment wasn’t the most torturous one. He should’ve received better treatment than those who were not Roman citizens. Nevertheless, he was still a convict. Some studies have found out that prisoners had to take care of their own food and drink. After coming to know about Paul’s situation, the Philippian church sent Epaphroditus with physical goods to Paul. He had to travel a long distance to reach Paul. The goods he brought along for Paul’s needs were also not sufficient for Paul. This is why Paul said that Epaphroditus supplied what was lacking in the Philippian church’s service to him (v30). After delivering what the church had provided, Epaphroditus stayed behind to continue to take care of Paul. He went above and beyond his duty. We also know Epaphroditus sorely longed for the Philippians; this was because he was aware they didn’t know he had recovered from his illness. When Paul understood how he was feeling, he sent him back to Phillipi. Previously when we read Thessalonians, we see how Paul cared and longed for the believers; in Philippians, we see how Epaphroditus cared and longed for the Philippians. Both of them were mindful of the things of the Lord Jesus; they didn’t put their concerns above the concerns of the Lord Jesus.

John 17:15
I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
The Lord Jesus was about the be crucified at this point in time. Despite that, He wasn’t thinking about the trials He was about to face, instead He was thinking about the disciples. He was concerned how they would be victorious after He leaves. Furthermore, He wasn’t just concerned about the disciples but all people who would come to believe later. As Christians who have been greatly restricted in movement during this time, what can we learn?

Have a heart that looks out for our brethren. There may be some brethren who are in need physically. Some find it difficult to go through this especially if they’re not familiar with technology. Some struggled for weeks before being able to attend service online. Some don’t know how to shop online, and so have to go physically to shop for groceries. Believers in such a situation would face more trouble. Let’s learn from the example of Epaphroditus who attended to the needs of Paul.

Paul used letters to encourage people. With such advanced technology today, we can send messages, make phone calls and even video calls to each other. Of course not forgetting to remember one another in prayer. In many of Paul’s letters, his opening is often on how he remembered brethren in his prayers. In this period of time when we can’t see each other as often, let’s remember each other in our prayers.

Besides longing for one another, we probably long for the church as well. Especially after understanding from the latest direction meted out by the government that religious gatherings would take a while to resume. Do we all miss going to church?

Psa 84:1-2
How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
We understand the church doesn’t point to a physical building but people who are called out by God. Now there is a church in every household because we worship God at home. But surely we feel something is still lacking as we are unable to gather under the same roof as our brethren. For example, we cannot gather to partake of the Holy Communion. Students aren’t able to gather with fellow classmates to listen to Religious Education classes. Since this cannot be done physically, it is done online. We long to gather once more in church to not only have communion with God but also with brethren.

Psalm 84 was written by the sons of Korah. The background of this psalm was likely when the Israelites were taken captive by another country. They were unable to go to Jerusalem to worship God in His tabernacle. The psalmist said even the sparrow can make a nest for herself in the tabernacle of God (v3). In comparison, they were worse off than a sparrow as they weren’t able to go to the tabernacle to worship Him.

There’s a similar description in Psa 43. The psalmist asked God to bring them to His holy hill, to His tabernacle; to lead him from afar to draw nearer and nearer for him to worship God. May we also long to draw near to God in His church, to worship and praise Him.

Isa 84:10
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Because the psalmist was unable to even have a day to spend a day in the courts of the Lord, his longing was so strong that he said even a day is better than a thousand elsewhere. Some people have expressed how they can’t stand staying home anymore; they want to go out or go to the office. They might’ve been glad to have been able to work or study from home initially. Little did we expect that when a group of people are stuck in a small place, problems arise. People do things that obstruct and cause trouble to another. But let us stay vigilant and not take our families for granted simply because we are trying to seek our own benefit. We inevitably have to accommodate one another. We may have taken going to church for services for granted, never imagining this day would come where we are unable to. Only after we have lost the ability to do so do we realise even going to church for a day to worship God is such a beautiful thing.

Psa 84:5
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
How blessed is the man whose heart is set on pilgrimage to go to Jerusalem. Isn’t this similar to how we feel joyful when we are on the way to church with our family or friends? The speaker remembers that when he was smaller and went back to his hometown to visit his grandparents, after dinner, he would walk to church together with his cousins. The journey then felt long perhaps because he was small. But it was always enjoyable; there were things to see along the way before they sat down for service together in church. We all look forward to when the Circuit Breaker measures are lifted and we can go to church with our family and friends to worship God. In this period of time, we continue to ask God to guard our hearts and minds till the day we can go back to church to worship Him.

Psa 139:17
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
Our God is a God who thinks about us all the time. His thoughts to us are precious and of great sum. What about us? Are the thoughts we have towards our brethren precious; is their sum great? Let us continue to remember each other in our prayers and to think of one another till the day we can return to church.