Is There Purpose in Relationships?

Is there a “source” for relationships? Do they come from somewhere? Are they the natural result of being a human being? Do they flow from loneliness, need or something else maybe even something bigger than us?

Whether or not one believes in God I think it is interesting to read things from all sources including the bible, and look at life from a different light. Take Genesis 1:26-27 for instance:

“Then God said, “let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness,
…and God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created them;
male and female He created them:”

Did you notice it? Did it stand out to you? Yes, it talks about God creating but what hit me was what the image of God was. In the first phrase there are three plural pronouns. God lives in relationship with Himself (something I would never claim to understand). IF, God truly did create mankind in His image then we would reflect him, we would be created in and for relationship.

That would mean we are created for relationship with God (all three of Him) and with each other. Is the possibility of relationships and the plausibility of relationships mapped somewhere deep in our DNA?

For me the answer is a resounding yes. Today, I am taken back years to college when I first read about babies with no parents who died when they had no human touch. Even if they had all the nourishment and protection they needed without a basic relationship of being touched by other humans they died.

Relationships are part of our very being and even if we have a personality that draws energy from being by ourselves I believe we will find a certain joy and even necessity in relationships.

Without Hope There is Nothing

The ebb and flow of every relationship begins in the Petri dish of hope. Without it the relationship never begins except for those formed out of requirements like employment, abuse and slavery.

For the others, those of choice and even love they are born of hope. A young woman meets a man who is caring, receiving and even at some level “softer” than other men she has known. A hope is born in her hear, “could this be the one?”

A man sees a woman, first attracted by her visually, he risks and she responds. The hope springs alive within him.

When this hope is encouraged, fed and grows so does the relation between a man and woman, two friends, fellow workers, or whoever is willing to offer hope to another.

The beginning of the end of that relationship is when hope is nicked or damaged. If not repaired the loss of hope over a period of time is the bleed that leads to the ultimate death of the relationship.

Hope is built on caring, communicating, truthfulness, being real and trust. If you desire to grow a relationship you are currently in or start a new one feed it with these morsels.