Chaplaincy
God’s Gift Of….Love
Years ago, there was an advertising campaign which urged us to ‘Say it with flowers’. Of course, the most common thing that the advertisers assumed the flowers were going to be “saying”, was ‘I love you’ – and, for a long time, that’s been the role of a bunch of roses (for example!) in a romantic relationship! If not flowers, then things like cards, chocolates, jewellery…
However, many of these “traditional” ways of telling someone that you love them might not have the same impact these days; and lots of people have searched for more unusual ‘I love you’ gifts. Maybe you’re inspired more by the idea of ‘My Beating Heart Pillow’ - it reproduces the sound of a heartbeat when you hug it; and then the beat of the pillow gradually syncs itself with your own heartbeat. Or you could give that “someone special” a red heart-shaped umbrella (to shelter under together); a jigsaw puzzle of the place where you first met; or even a personalised message in a bottle! Maybe you could think of something that you might think is a bit more practical – such as the Chinese man who lived with his wife in the mountains of Chongqing. He was worried that his wife might injure herself on the small, steep trail between their hut and the town below; so he spent 57 years carving 6,000 steps into the mountainside, just to ensure his wife could descend and ascend without trouble. He maintained that stone staircase for her, until his death…
When God wanted to say “I love you” to us, His creations, He certainly didn’t both with chocolates or flowers. He didn’t check out a website advertising “Unusual Gifts for That Special Person”. But, as possibly the most famous verse in the Bible says, He had the perfect gift: ‘For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have eternal life’ (John 3:16). It’s still, in all of history, THE greatest Christmas gift – of love, for each and every one of us.
Mark Rundle
Calrossy Anglican School Chaplain