Jesus invested himself in relationships that he knew would fail. Judas betrayed him. Peter denied him. Many walked away/fled when he was in his darkest hour. Why would he bother sharing his life with people he knew weren’t loyal and had little to give in return? Why try to connect at all?
Maybe you think God-in-the-flesh didn’t have the same need for companionship/camaraderie/relationship as we do but I believe he did. He was fully human. He experienced disappointment, fear, anxiety, suffering, pain … he took our sorrows upon himself, he chose to become all that we are so that we could have the life he intended for us to have. Yes, Jesus was grieved when those he loved abandoned him. He knew they would but it still bothered him.
“He did not entrust himself to any man for he knew what was in man.”
Jesus modeled humility in his relationships: he gave without expecting anything in return. He didn’t expect humans to give him what they had no capacity to give.
This is remarkable and worthy of imitation: we shouldn’t expect too much from people. Humans have limited resouces to meet our emotional and spiritual needs. While God designed us for community and we do need each other, he didn’t intend for us to try to find our rest in each other. We can point each other toward truth, remind each other of goodness and beauty, but only God can truly know, understand, and meet us right where we need to be met. Only God can bring us into rest.
That said, when we’re at peace with him we can be at peace with each other. Our relationship with God enables us to focus on giving rather than demanding to receive. When two people give (and when the source of that giving is God) and give and give, neither side comes up empty.
Jesus offered friendship to people, not to fill his own cup, but theirs. He always had the kingdom in mind.
