Encouragement

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In a survey carried out recently by a leading newspaper it discovered the not surprising fact that very few Christmas cards available now in the shops actually have a religious theme. To add insult to injury one card even suggested that the shepherds only saw the angel appear on the hillside because they were hallucinating after taking drugs, while another ignored Christmas altogether, merely bearing the words ‘Happy December.’

This, and the brash materialistic attitude of our times, is a sad indication of how Christmas and its message is being corrupted, distorted or ignored.

Buy gifts, by all means, after all given with love these should provide a great deal of pleasure. But the real value of a gift is not how deep we have dug into our pockets, or the size of the cheque we have written out, but the spirit with which it is given.

After all, material gifts, regardless of value, will eventually tarnish or fall apart or may just be forgotten, left laying at the back of a cupboard somewhere gathering dust. Worse still they may have been given with little or no thought or care, but merely as an acknowledgement of the time of the year that someone had felt obliged to buy.

As Christmas Day approaches we should cultivate that spirit of love, friendship and gratitude and set aside some time to offer a prayer of thanks for the company of our family and friends and for the opportunity to share this special day with them.

The gift of love and friendship is by far the most treasured gift of all, so give of yourself, and the world will be a better place for it. The more we give of ourselves, the more we strengthen the precious bonds of love and friendship. This in turn will become part of the world around us, which will grow and flourish, and enrich each life it touches.

And that surely is the real meaning of the Christmas message, and the lasting beauty and purpose of life itself.

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