Christmas is all about giving, but how many ofus stop to think about the reasons why we give and how it relates to our faith?
For Christians, the surprise of Christmas is thebaby being born, in poverty and in exile, but too often that baby gets lostbehind the pile of presents. We are surrounded by gift giving and receiving andit's important to remember the overwhelming generosity of God in the midst ofthat and to think about what we are giving back. Could you give your church aChristmas present, either financially or in terms of your time?
Statistics show that increasing numbers ofpeople are coming into our churches over the Christmas period. Carol services,Christingles and Christmas tree festivals are all an opportunity to show God'sgenerosity to our local community. Rather than being tempted to grumble aboutthose that only come into church once a year, welcome them in to share God'smost generous gift to our world in Jesus and also give them a chance to respondto that generosity.Visitors will oftenwant to say thank you for a good experience and we should make that as easy forthem as possible...but we shouldn't expect it!
Christmas is also a time when many of ourcongregations will be sharing the generosity of God beyond the walls of ourchurches. Collecting presents for children in care or living in women's hostelsand making extra donations to food banks.
Stewardship in its widest sense often comesalive in the festivals, but in the busyness of the season, it is often notconsidered in a planned way. What will you be doing over Advent and Christmasto share the generosity of God and allow others to do so too?
