On The Journey Towards Intimacy

We are created in the image of Trinitarian personalness and oneness, which spawns an insatiable capacity for intimacy deep within our being. Jesus' desire for intimacy is revealed in His incarnation, and His request of the Father at the end of his ministry to be one with those who believe (John 17). Intimacy is sacred!
However, our technologically saturated, accomplishment-oriented society is robbing us of the intimacy we naturally long for. Computers, answering machines, the Internet, virtual reality, created to enhance productivity and profits, have actually depersonalized and isolated. Rather than experiencing personal encounters, we find ourselves staring at mechanised screens and fingering keyboards. Intimacy is stolen.
The journey toward intimacy, a complex mix of longing and resistance, asks a great deal of us. Intimacy asks us to be vulnerable. We resist openness and honesty with each other out of fear. We are afraid of being rejected by others and of finding nothing when we look within ourselves to discover our authentic personalness. Instead of living out of our created uniqueness, we hide behind masks which create the false impression that we have it all together. Intimacy is blocked.
Intimacy also asks that we value others in their uniqueness rather than stand in judgement. Fully accepting others without asking them to change invites us to the deepest expression of love.
Jesus' desire for intimacy is realized in the presence of lived personalness, vulnerability and acceptance.

by Stephen Imbach