Hold true to the original gift of Christmas
Rev Sarah Ross, Blantyre Old Parish Church
Halloween and Remembrance have passed and now we can’t help but see the preparation for what is most likely the biggest festival of the year.
Anticipation hangs in the air along with stress, whilst shop tills online and offline ring the bells merrily.
Let’s remember that this is the season of giving. And you will give a lot of yourself in time, in energy, in gifts and in love. However, that first Christmas was a gift to the poor and the outcast, a gift of love and hope to those who felt forgotten and marginalised.
People talk about Christmas spirit and where to find it. So before your Christmas spirit is eroded through the consumerism and materialism, think about how you could hold true to the original gift of Christmas.
Requests to help various charities will come thick and fast and for sure, you can’t help them all.
Yet, giving a little less to those who have enough, and more to those who don’t will do wonders for the Christmas spirit.
In the Bible we read: The world of the generous gets larger; the world of the stingey gets smaller.
The one who blesses others is abundantly blessed; those who help others are helped. (Proverbs 11:24-25 MSG)
May this ever extended festival bring you joy, hope, peace and love. God bless us, everyone.