IT’S hard to believe that it’s Advent again, that wonderful time of year when Christians throughout the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, or ‘The Grand Miracle’ as CS Lewis described it.

As he rightly said, “Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from it.”

American Christian singer-songwriter Michael Card put it a little more poetically in his song ‘To the Mystery’: ‘No fiction as fantastic and wild; / a mother made by her own child. The hopeless babe who cried / was God incarnate and man deified.’

Like millions of other Christians, I believe the ‘almost unbelievable’ assertion that a baby born in a small, agricultural village in Roman-occupied Judea some two thousand years ago was the creator God Himself.

Lots of people think this is pure fantasy, and many others have a very different understanding of God. I respect that; it is our God-given right. As a Baptist, I believe faith is a personal choice and should be the product of persuasion not compulsion, but I also think the apostle John hit the nail on the head when he said ‘the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world’.

If Jesus is the true light, it means we all have God-given insights - one of which is the awareness that we are to do all we can to enrich the lives of our communities. Christians talk of being ‘salt’ and ‘light’, other faith communities will use different language but in the end I am talking about making the world a better place, and I’m delighted to see that faith communities in Wales are doing just that.

The recently published ‘Faith in Wales’ report suggests different faith groups contribute at least £250 million to the Welsh economy every year, representing a 49 per cent increase from when the last report was published in 2008 (taking inflation into account). Almost all faith communities engage in social action and the role of places of worship as important community centres was also highlighted.

The report states that ‘a significant proportion of foodbanks in Wales are run by faith communities’, almost a third of faith communities are involved in tackling homelessness and in promoting green initiatives and nearly a quarter provide assistance and support for people struggling with debt.

Jane Hutt, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip for the Welsh government certainly appreciates the role they play in Wales. “Faith is important to so many people in Wales” she said. “Our faith communities help their local areas in many ways, promoting equality, social inclusion and community cohesion”.

Faith is optional but it is not irrelevant, and it is clearly playing a significant role in Welsh life. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise because God wants us to enjoy life to the full. ‘The true light, who gives light to everyone’ made that clear when he was born in a stable in a small village called Bethlehem.