Can Your Life Have Greater Meaning?

Your Family and Friends Really Matter

Would you enjoy life if  you had no contact with your family and had no close  friends?   Obviously not.  Our creator made us with a need to love and be loved.  That is one  reason why Jess highlighted the importance of 'loving our neighbor as ourselves.'  (Matthew 22:39)  The family is a divine gift that provides an ideal setting for displaying unselfish love. -Ephesians 3:14, 15.

How can our family give our life greater meaning?  Well, a united family might be compared to a beautiful garden that provides a refreshing refuge from the stress of everyday life.  Similarly, within the family, we can find refreshing companionship and warmth that banish feelings of loneliness.  Of course, a family does not automatically provide such a haven.  As we strengthen family bonds, however, we grow closer to one another. and life becomes richer.  For instance, the time and attention we give to showing love and respect for our marriage mate are daily investments that may ultimately yield rich dividends.  Ephesians 5:33.

If we have children, we should strive to provide the right environment in which to bring them up.  Spending time with them, keeping open the lines of communication, and giving them spiritual instruction may be demanding.  But such time and effort can bring us great satisfaction.  Successful parents view children as a blessing,a s an inheritance from God that should be well cared for. -Psalm 127:3.

Good friends also contribute to a satisfying and meaningful life.  (Proverbs 27:9) We can make many friends by showing fellow feeling.   (1 Peter 3:8) Genuine friends help to lift us up when we stumble.  (Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10)  and "a true companion . . .is a brother that is born for when there is distress." -Proverbs 17:17.

Next time: Satisfying Our Spiritual Need

Watchtower, 2000