"We love because He first loved us"

One of my favourite words in The Lord of the Rings is mathom, an Old English term for a treasure or valuable gift.  

Mathoms are special objects but, like most readers of The Lord of the Rings, the hobbits had forgotten what the word originally meant. Mathoms, to them, were things they “had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away.”   

That doesn’t mean hobbits were terrible hoarders. Quite the opposite: they loved giving gifts. In fact, Tolkien tells us that on their birthdays they gave presents, including these mathoms, to other people rather than write lists of presents they wanted to receive themselves.   

The Lord of the Rings is, of course, a deeply Christian book. Tolkien knew that giving and receiving are inextricably linked. He knew that we can give because God first gave himself to us: “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) 

What is especially wonderful about mathoms is that they show us this love in action. They were treasures twice over. Hobbits received them and then they passed them on. We might say that, through their giving, hobbits doubled the love they received.  

But do mathoms still have any relevance for us in the 21st century? If hobbit birthdays were times for giving what they had already received, we might ask ourselves how we can best celebrate the birthday of Jesus? How do we give what we have already received from Him? 

Double your generosity at a special time of year

One of the great joys of working for Mary’s Meals is that I see people giving in the most amazing ways every day. Our supporters give their time, their money, and their prayers. That is how they change lives.  

Mary’s Meals provides school meals to 2,429,182 children each day in 17 countries across the world. Because of the incredible generosity of our supporters, we meet children’s immediate need for food while simultaneously enabling them to make the most of the education that can be their ladder out of poverty.  

Amazingly, it costs only £19.15 to feed a child for a whole school year, thanks to our low-cost model and thousands of dedicated volunteers across the globe. We really do have a simple solution to world hunger.  

This Christmas we want to transform even more lives. Right now, with Double The Love, all donations made to Mary’s Meals are doubled by a group of generous supporters, up to £1.1 million. That means we can feed even more children with your help. Like the hobbits with their mathoms, we can double the love we give.   

So, at this most wonderful time of year, let us take a lesson from the hobbits. Let us give generously and with an open heart to celebrate the greatest birthday of all.  

Roy Peachey,
Supporter Engagement Officer