by Kimberly Due-Vacco

Created on: September 11, 2009   Last Updated: September 13, 2009

As a Christian, I often wonder about life; are we truly meant to live contentedly here on this earth? It seems impossible that we will ever get to a point of absolute contentment - there is just too much turmoil here to find the ultimate sweet spot of happiness that we long for. Even here in America, supposedly the greatest place on earth to live, people grumble and complain about every little thing that doesn't go their way. I suppose that is human nature.

In Ecclesiastes 3, which in my opinion is one of the most beautiful chapters of scripture in the entire bible, it is written, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." This makes it clear that God placed in us aspiration for life here on earth and he had a reason. We may never be able to figure the reason out, but he has a reason nonetheless. Even though as Christians, we believe this world is not our permanent home, we still want to make the best of things while we are here. That is as it should be.

I believe that above all, God created us to be relational beings. We have a deep desire to connect with other people, with our God, to commune with nature and animals, to build a life for ourselves here. We see this in the life of Jesus. His life was all about relationships, for example, as he traveled about, he chose men to go with him. These men weren't simply his followers; they were also his friends and closest confidants. Jesus told them ahead of time what was to happen to him (John 12:20-33). He ate with them, slept alongside of them and cared for them deeply. He fostered relationships with them.

Yes, we are wired to create relationships, and as Christ's followers, we are to follow his lead in the relationships we establish, and love people as he did. Jesus formed friendships and he nurtured them in a unique way. He was not always quick to make everything smooth for his disciples (his friends). There were also times when he had to let people go. We see one illustration of this in John chapter 13 when Jesus has to release Judas to go and do as he would. Jesus also faced the fact that Peter, who had been one of his closest supporters, would deny even knowing Jesus. He knew that the friendships that he had with these men had not been a waste of time; they had served a great function in his life, he loved them deeply, but there came a time when he had to move away from his relationships with

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