21 Days of Filiation: God, Family & ChurchExemple

THE INTIMACY CHALLENGE Did you know that you were made for intimacy? Intimacy is related to closeness, connection, deepening, and known intentions. We were made for relational intimacy. That is why every disproportionate isolation breeds sickness in the soul. Nobody was made to exist alone! There are three kinds of intimacy: the true, the real, and the false. The True kind, which took place before the Fall of Mankind recorded in Genesis 3, unfortunately resulted, for centuries and centuries, in Mankind being disconnected from Heaven. Overall, God always kept someone (a prophet) connected to Him to continue His plan of redemption after true intimacy was lost. Man lived close and unimpeded with himself, others, and God. There are clear indications in the Genesis narrative that the Creator had an intimate, close, ongoing relationship with man. Real intimacy was precisely that which was possible after the Fall, when being intimate ceased to be natural and became unnatural. Then comes the third type of intimacy ─ the False one. This aspect is the choice not to face the difficulties of real (post-Fall) intimacy and to give in to the discomfort of the lack of intimacy. Unfortunately, this is where addictions, bad habits, and types of sins are born. How to resolve the issue? Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Through Him, we again have access to the Father (as Humanity and individuals). Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, you can cultivate intimacy, despite the challenges of real intimacy, with yourself, God, and others. Remember: you were not born to live alone. Allow Jesus to connect you! Intimacy will never be natural, but always intentional ─ develop it!