IT seems that for most people, Christmas comes earlier to our attention each year.
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It’s the same with our celebration of Easter (by late January, hot cross buns appear). That gets overshadowed by Valentine’s Day and, of course, Halloween demands our escape or inclusion.
If someone appeared from another planet they would consider that “Christmas” was about shopping expeditions, food and holidays.
It struck me the other day that, unfortunately, an advertisement for a popular pizza came immediately after the Save The Children ad, which showed underweight, malnourished and dying children.
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I know that for Christians all over the world, there is another strong message that we lock into and which is best described by a reading from The Gospel of John 3.16.
“For God loved the world so much that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not die but have everlasting life.”
One advertisement that caught my attention and had me singing along thoughtfully was the Target ad with the song What The World Needs Now: “What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. We don’t need another mountain. We have mountains and hillsides enough to climb.”
The true Christmas message is that God supplied the answer by sending his Son as a rescuer and one who proved his love and provided it for the whole world.
I hope we can embrace this message, and why not sing along.