The saints are those who in this life bear the crushing and overwhelming burdens of others and who both "cry out to God with unutterable groanings" for their brothers and sisters and also who reach out with the compassion of Jesus to touch, to heal, to support. Jesus promised that His followers would do greater things than He did, because He was going to the Father (and thereby could release His power and spirit throughout the world, to all who would receive). Collectively, the Body of Christ can do "greater things" than He was able to do in the flesh, as one Man, limited by time and space.
Those who have allowed Christ to continue His redemption on earth through them constantly make intercession for those they love---and they love those Christ loves, because they are one with Him in spirit. And after death, that love and intercession, that bearing of others' burdens, does not cease, but continues in an even greater way. Freed from the demands of the physical body, the soul continues on the path it set for itself on earth---toward freedom, toward love, toward unity and support for those it loves.
The Communion of Saints is a great doctrine, but few of us realize how much strength we have in it. The Book of Hebrews tells us that we are "surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses" (12:1), so let us run without hinderance toward the great prize, throwing off the burdens of sin. Whatever we train ourselves to do in this life is what we will be doing for eternity: praying, praising, rejoicing, or cursing.
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