The Desire for Intimacy


“When I am from him, I am dead till I be with him. United souls are not satisfied with embraces, but desire to be truly each other; which being impossible, these desires are infinite, and must proceed without a possibility of satisfaction.” Religio Medici

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. I Corinthians 13:12

I don’t know if it is just me, but I know a lot of frustrated and disappointed married people as well as lonely singles. The divorce rate in the Church matches that of the world, and it has become nearly impossible to find families that haven’t been touched one way or the other by a fractured marriage and the broken dreams and desires it represents.

Sin not only divorced us from intimate fellowship with God, but it also divorced us from one another, and lastly, from ourselves. If this were not so, we would never be deceived in ourselves by the deceitfulness of sin. Yet we find we are constantly having our eyes opened to some character defect and moral lapse that we were previously unaware of.

One of the great longings of the human state is the desire for intimacy – an intimacy that encompasses all aspects of a person: body, mind, and soul. We often seek for this intimacy in marriage, hence the search for a “soul mate.” I have known of some marriages where this felicity is known, but it is more rare than I would like to see.

I don’t think I am unusual in yearning for an intimacy that embraces all aspects of my being, and of knowing. But I think that is the impossible dream in this life. In reality, I think that this yearning is but another sign post pointing us to Heaven and the union and communion that we will fully enjoy with Christ some day. Then we will know, even as we are fully known. Then we will experienced the untrammelled joy of meeting with open face the One who transforms us from glory to glory into all that He intended we should be. And then true and full fellowship will be enjoyed amongst us all.