Paul wrote a letter telling a church that he was with them in spirit, even though he was absent in the body. Have you ever done this? It is easier said than done. Paul was referring to more than well-wishing from afar. How much more is open to debate. Have you ever been present in body while absent in spirit? This is so commonplace today that most of the people you meet only expect clouded or distracted presence and that is all they have to offer. Are you working on being present in spirit with others as Paul did? Start by being present in spirit where you are present in your body. 

Have you heard that wounded people wound others? Have you seen this in practice, where people with unresolved trauma inflict it on others? Perhaps you have been on the receiving end of this yourself. Can this concept be turned around? Can healed people heal others? They are in a position to do so if they will. Yet they still carry their wounds, as I did, even after the resurrection. All wounds start out as ordinary, but the way you bear them can transform them into sacred wounds, even as I did. You too may have wounds that you will not be ashamed of in the resurrection.

Are you familiar with the concepts of top down and bottom up? These are different versions of developing and presenting concepts but they can be applied to the same ideas. This distinction is most  commonly applied in business and politics. Could it be applied to spiritual matters as well? What is the most common presentation you hear of the gospel message? Does it start from God and go down from there? This is clearly top down. Can the same message be presented starting with the unavoidable human longing for identity, belonging, meaning, and self-transcendence?

Are you familiar with the concept of resonance? It is a term of acoustics that refers to things that vibrate at the same frequency, but the concept is so powerful that the term has been appropriated broadly for human interactions and responses. Have you encountered people or ideas that you identify and connect with, even though you couldn’t offer a rational explanation for it? Has time shown these initial impressions to be true more often than not? You could also refer to this as discernment, or the experience of being led by the Spirit. Some things that are real cannot be explained.