Hello, mi neighbour! | Give love this Christmas

Christmas greetings to all! Well-wishers will wish you peace, joy and happiness for the Christmas and into the New Year. Whether or not these wishes are sincere, is another story, but no need to question that. This is just what people do at this time of the year. By the way, do you have a Christmas wish? My sincerest wish for you this Christmas is a basket full of love – love in sincerity:

• No strings attached.

• No ulterior motive.

• No hidden agenda.

• Not for anything in return,

Is there such a love? Can anyone love like that? Loving without expecting anything in return? Not even an iota of a favour? To love sincerely is to love completely. To love insincerely is to love incompletely, and that is dangerous. Check it!

How many times have you heard, “I gave him this, that and the other, and he still left me for another”? So often we hear: “I gave her all that she ever wanted and I got nothing in return.” So, here is the thing: if your sole purpose in giving is to receive something in return, you will be sorely disappointed. You could even lose your soul! You see, to truly give is to give without expecting anything in return. And that is only possible when one truly loves. And I close this paragraph by asserting that giving without truly loving is a bad investment.

Based on your experience and estimation, which of these would you consider to be true love? Romantic love, platonic love, self-love, obsessive love, altruistic love, erotic love, familial love, or some of the other types that your are familiar with? While some of you try to determine which is which, I invite the rest of you to follow me in the following Bible passage as together we try to identify the characteristics of true love.

Some may argue that the writer here is addressing religious people, but, for sure, all mankind should endeavour to, and can experience, this kind of love, whether it be from the receiving or giving end! And oh what a wonderful world this would be! The writer begins by saying that “If I speak the languages of human beings or angels but do not have LOVE, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have LOVE, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do not have LOVE, I gain nothing”. If you deduce from this passage that the writer is implying that we can accomplish all the above without truly loving, we are on the same page!

Listen to his description of what true LOVE is: LOVE is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. LOVE does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. LOVE never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are languages, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away … . And now, these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.

The key words/thoughts here are:

• Patient

• Kind

• Does not envy

• Not self-seeking

• Not easily angered

• Keeps no record of wrong

• Does not delight in evil

• Rejoices with the truth

• Always protects

• Always trusts

• Always hopes

• Always perseveres

• Never fails

Running out of space again! Hope you got that!

This is the basket of love that I wish for you this Christmas – both to give and to receive.

How do I experience this kind of love for the rest of my life? One may ask. Ask God. He has a basket for everyone. Enjoy and share your basket of love!

Merry Christmas!

KINDLY HELP A NEIGHBOUR WITH AN ITEM FROM BELOW

1. Stove

2. Refrigerator

3. Bed

4. Food

5. Medication

6. Financial assistance to start a little business

To help, please call Silton Townsend @ 876 649-9636 or 876 884-3866 Contact email: helloneighbour@yahoo.com. Visit hellomineighbourja.blogspot.com. Townsend exclusively manages the collections and distributions mentioned in this column and is neither an employee nor agent of The Gleaner.