So, in that situation — lover away from beloved — that longing, that “pining away,” as my mother used to say, is not abnormal or wrong.

But it is dangerous.  Ask any soldier who has gone away to war and received a “Dear John” letter.  If love is not genuinely strong, absence can destroy a relationship.

There are differences, though, in this entire “Lover – Beloved” analogy.

Jesus said that it was beneficial for us that he went away.  In our analogy, how can it be good that the Beloved goes away? (I’m trying to reconcile some beliefs, to bring fuzzy logic into focus, and I’m really unable to do it justice.  Wiser men than me have lost their way at this point.)