countdown to Christmas
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Matthew 25 v 34-40
There is something about the Christmas period that sparks off the good in others. This means that this is the best time of year to get support towards making a difference in you own community.
One of the best things about Christmas is knowing that someone cares about you enough to give you a gift or a card. Some people in our communities who spend Christmas alone may never have this feeling. For many people Christmas can be just one big reminder of how alone they are.
The challenge is to sit down with your friends now and work out how you can have the maximum impact in your community this Christmas. You can decide to plan a on-off event, like a community carol service, or maybe lots of small projects that run right through December, such as creating food stores for people to donate food to those who don’t have enough or buying extra presents for people who may be alone this year. One of the best things you can do is to find anyone in your church or neighbourhood who may be alone and visit them!
The birth of this one child over to thousand years ago brought Hope into a seemingly hopeless world. This child was a sign that God wanted to restore that relationship that mankind had damaged. This Christmas we should all help to bring this message of Hope to the world.
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