In Person

Conversation in person involves not only words, written or spoken, but also gestures, facial expressions, and more. The non-verbal elements express beyond what words do. What may be concealed in words-only-communication may not be in in-person-conversation. It may not be so easy to notice ungenuineness if one says “I love you” or “I am sorry” without heart in the former as in the latter. 

This tells us two things. First, we should not judge people without meeting and conversing with them in person. Judging by words only, not even by appearance of a person, could be a serious side effect of the prevalence of technology. It has been more focused on relating words in lightspeed that the presence of the person can never catch them up. Second, we should not underestimate meeting and talking in person at any rate. It must be a great mistake to overshadow the irreplaceable value of the presence of the person, which is the basic element of humanity, with the expedience that technology serves us with.

Find friends to hang out in person, talking, laughing or crying, and hugging–not just texting or facebooking. If it is not easy to begin, eat together, or walk together, or play a game like “the moment of truth,” sharing life stories–candlelight or campfire may help. That will lead you into the others’ worlds and the others into yours so that you and they will meet in a new world. It is the spiritual world as you will share a spirit. It is fellowship and, according to Aristotle, friendship, who said, “Friends are two bodies of a spirit.” The true fellowship and friendship are the fruit of meeting and talking with each other in person. Do you know why? That is the element of love, without which you neither have true fellowship or friendship nor true life (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).