"We do not want to merely "see" beauty--though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words--to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.
This quote expresses what I feel is the necessity of experience. We discussed in class the importance of memories and the propose they serve in allowing us to think and analysis a situation instead of merely experience it. When we are in the moment you can experience or analyze but there is no doing both. As we read in “The Ethics of Elfland”, when you experience pain at the dentist you might think “ow” but there is no processing of opinions or coherent ideas because you are in the experience. Also, in an earlier blog I even used Severe Mercy for an example of this because of the new way in which the author was able to see his relationship and his wife after she had died in comparison to just experiencing her. At the same time, however, I also wonder if we really can give greater importance to memories over experiencing them. Is it really better to think about it? If we look at the quote, I think sometimes it is good to know and understand things like beauty but to experience it and be united with that beauty has purpose of its own. Sex is an experience which is symbolic of the relationship we have with Christ. It an experience which mirrors the emotional relationship we have now and its joining with the physical union we will have with Him when we see Him face to face. It is in a sense a taste of the Glory of God experienced in part in this world. If we look at sex like this then we see its purpose being this experiencing of God, culminated in the experience that moves past ideas into pure worship and exaltation.
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