It was a Saturday morning and the pedestrian shopping precinct was very busy. There were numerous stalls on the pavements and also quite a few buskers. Amid all this, someone was holding up a large notice in the air. It was held aloft by a middle aged woman and the wording on the notice was simple and direct – "Free Hugs"

Now one might think that people might stay well away from such a risky invitation but no, she was getting a very good response. She was approached by all sorts of people and by all age groups. She hardly had time to lift her notice till she had to put it down again to give another hug.

Everyone seemed to be responding in a positive spirit and to be appreciating the kindness she was showing

I looked at some of the other stalls that were trying to attract customers – they seemed to be doing very little business in comparison to her. Indeed thy must have been envious at the response she was getting.

Maybe it showed that people do need more than the material goodies that so often we run after.

Maybe some of those people who availed of her offer had not had a hug for some time and appreciated that simple human gesture.

We all need the warmth of a hug from time to time and indeed it can be one of the failings of our culture that we sometimes shy away from such expressions of affection and kindness.

Yet that sign "Free Hugs" was but a tiny reflection of the sign that is lifted high above our world – " God is love" and " God so loved that he freely gave". God holds the whole of hurting humanity in a great embrace and nothing can separate us from his love which is in Christ Jesus. God longs for us to enjoy the warmth of his hug.

Karl Barth was a famous theologian who wrote countless books that many of us might have had difficulty in understanding. Asked to put into a few simple words what it all meant to him he replied " God loves me". We can spend the whole of our lives trying to grasp the profundity of that statement.

It's supposed to be summer time and we are supposed to be enjoying some sunshine. It can unfortunately be in rather short supply in this country. That is why we sometimes have to escape to other places – as I did last winter to Nepal.

There many houses have flat roofs where you can sit and enjoy the sunshine. I was on a sabbatical and it was a time of rest and reflection. Amid all the reading the real experience for me was to sit in the sunshine and to allow the sunshine of God's love to penetrate into my being. Most of us like to feel the heat of the sun warming our bodies. We all need to experience the heat of God's love warming the heart.

For us so often there are clouds which block out the sunshine. In life too there are clouds – all sorts of difficulties and our own failings – which can preclude us from feeling the warmth of God's love. Yet just as we know that the sun is always there so should we recognise that God's love is always there.