A question by my neighbour as to why many families only seemed to meet up at Christmas led to deeper thoughts. As January ends, the glow of the Christmas spirit dims and many are beginning to feel a sense of emptiness and isolation.

Loneliness is one of the greatest problems of today, and yet we live alongside seven billion other people.

Those active within their community see this problem at first hand. However, it is not just the elderly and infirm, as many young people declare this is their number one problem.

The headlines of breakdown in families, conflict in society and homelessness of thousands point to a serious failure in relationships and commun-ication. The need to love and be loved and the hunger for deep personal relationships scream at us from every side.

Christians believe that communication with God is of the utmost importance and that is why Jesus came at Christmas. The mission of Jesus, who is well aware of man’s loneliness, was as a builder of bridges between God and man and between mankind itself.

His healing message is that, as far as personal needs are concerned, the real and important world is the world within us, not the world outside. We may choose to fill our outside world with many things, higher wages, faster cars, better homes, but these external things will never entirely satisfy our inside world.

Jesus understands the emptiness within us and makes it possible to experience the life of his spirit within us filling our inner being with love and giving us hope.

George Scarlett, St.Mary’s Church, Ambleside