Note 11 at Col. 2:1: Paul wanted the Colossians to know the conflict he was experiencing over them (see note 12 at this verse). Paul didn't hide or mask his love. He was a passionate man who believed in communicating his true feelings. Not all feelings are bad. The positive emotions that God gives need to be expressed.

Note 12 at Col. 2:1: The conflict that Paul was having was not physical or external. He is speaking of interceding for these Colossians and Laodiceans in the same way that he described in Galatians 4:19 when he said, "I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." Paul so earnestly desired the maturity of these new believers that he was continually praying for them (Col. 1:3, 9-17).

Note 13 at Col. 2:1: Paul had not personally led the Colossians to faith in Christ (see note 6 at Col. 1:4, p. 1185). That is what he was referring to when he said, "have not seen my face in the flesh." They had never met face to face. As with anything that is received "second hand," there was the possibility of some detail being left out or changed. For this cause, Paul wrote this letter to make sure that they were grounded in the fundamentals of the faith.