Give love this Christmas - Bishop of Down

In his Advent message, Bishop Harold Miller states: For many of us, the weeks before Christmas are periods of massive spending - indeed the shops will be hoping that the spending keeps up this year in this time of recession. 

I suppose that the buying of presents, sometimes very expensive presents, is a way in which we express the value we place on the person to whom the gift is given. But there are other ways of expressing love as well, some of which may have been forgotten over the years.

A thoughtful letter telling someone how much we appreciate them can be a gift treasured for many years; a simple home-made gift or meal can carry with it something of the love of the giver; a visit to someone whom we haven't seen for years, or even someone with whom we have had a challenging relationship can be the beginning of healing. The cost to us may be in terms of our time, our talents and our creativity or even our pride, rather than in terms of money.

It is also very encouraging, as a bishop, to see so many churches bringing gifts or filling shoe boxes for people who are genuinely poor, as an expression of Christian love. Those who have been less affected by the recession need to acknowledge that fact with honesty and might choose to give a proportion of their money for the needs of those less cared for over the coming months. Perhaps each church could decide on one way in which God is calling them to serve those in financial distress over the year to come. Many are already doing so in powerful and imaginative ways.

When Jesus came to earth to give us the love of God in a fresh and engaging way, it was deeply costly to every part of his being. Indeed, in the end, it meant laying down everything. Whatever we give this Christmas, it will cost us, and the greatest cost is the cost of love. Give love.