In Mark 10:17-21, the man who knelt before Jesus yearned for eternal life, but yearned more for his own riches and wealth. Eternal life is being in love with and in relationship with God – in the here and now and continuing into the hereafter – such that that love spills out to others around us.

Just the phrase "eternal life" indicates a state so wonderful that words are too limited to express it adequately. The man who knelt before Jesus found he battled to embrace God's love fully because of something he was clinging to – in his case, wealth.

When girls realise they can do something they thought they could not, or we witness inexpressible kindness in our community, that is the love of God overflowing. Even in times of great sadness, there too God's love overflows.

My prayer for us all in 2017 is that we notice and treasure those many moments in which God's love shines through, such that those moments form the "why" of what we do. May God bless us all in this new year.

Revd Claudia Coustas