In fact God’s design for each of us is to live in three meaningful relationships:
- God Created Us to Live in Relationship with Him. The first man Adam enjoyed that wonderful experience in the Garden of Eden until he sinned and broke it. However, God knowing that human kind cannot live apart from Him sent His Son to this earth to die for our sins that we might be reconciled to Him. Such reconciliation is the essence of a meaningful existence on this earth and assurance of an eternal relationship with the Father in heaven. Be sure you have this relationship.
- God Created Us to Have a relationship with One Special Person on This Earth- Our Spouse. After God created the world, he pronounced the creation as “extremely good” (Genesis 1:31), except He pointed out the one thing that was “not good”, namely, that man should be alone. So the Lord created a companion for the first man, which made relationship and intimacy possible.
- God Created Us for Relationship in a Larger Sense. That is why God created the church, which He calls “the body of Christ.” Why did He call the church a “body?” Because just as our human body has different parts with different functions and each part is interdependent upon the others; in a similar way each believer is endowed with a spiritual gift – such a mercy, encouragement, teaching, exhortation, giving, service, helps – which are meant to benefit other members. God gives us these gifts not for ourselves but to serve others (1 Peter 4:10). When we do so, we find the fullness of life; to fail to do so is to deprive ourselves of a benefit not met by money, houses, cars, pleasures, the “happy hour,” or anything else. On your way to church, do you ever notice people walking the streets – how lonely, and “out of place” they appear to be. Indeed, they are when they could be living abundantly if they were with their brothers and sisters in some church or assembly.