The greatest human need is to bond with others. When we connect deeply with our spouse, children, friends, and even colleagues at work, life takes on greater joy and excitement. The world is a big place, and it’s God’s job to love everyone, but for us as believers, it’s our calling to simply love our neighbor. We have the opportunity to bring God’s agape or unselfish love to the corner of the world in which He has planted us.

Never in history has there been a greater need for compassion, empathy, vulnerability, and gentleness in our culture. I believe we live in a world that is suffocating, not because we don’t have material resources and help available, but because we don’t have deeply bonded relationships. As technology invades our space with entertainment and the ability to go wherever we want, whenever we want (at least virtually speaking), we can easily become isolated. This can cause us to confuse virtual reality with God’s reality. We may have friends and family in our lives, but we are not truly bonded with them.

When Jesus walked among us, He set the standard for close relationships, first with His Father and then with His close friends. He made the time to connect with others and to build into their lives, so we should do no less. Let’s endeavor to love as Jesus did, and as we do, our disconnected world will be transformed!