Would you like a car with cruise control? I would. All of my friends have one…well, I haven't actually done a survey to say that for sure, but it is a pretty common feature these days – not a luxury at all! Living in Australia with regular visits to our international partners, I meet a lot of people that don’t have a car with cruise control. I know one Churches of Christ leader who has a bike, with one good pedal. I have a spare set in the garage – I should take him a new set next time I visit. That would be a good gift but, actually, if I wanted to give a great gift of real impact, I’d go straight to the GMP Great Gifts catalogue.

Choosing a gift from the catalogue won’t make your car travel more steadily, but it will convey something of the love God calls us to have for our neighbours. It will, in a small way, start to balance the world – shift some resources from those who worry about cruise control to those who have only one pedal. The greatest threat to the human community at the moment is inequality. Every GMP Great Gift has real impact, conveys love and makes the world a little more equal. For example, a baby chick will give the opportunity for steady income for ethnic minorities in Thailand. A shirt or skirt will give the opportunity of education to a child without parents in Zimbabwe. A peace club will change the thinking of high school students in South Sudan. A computer class will offer the opportunity of employment to someone in an Indian slum community.

There’s no cruise control in the catalogue, so instead, steady the world, not your motor vehicle.

Colin Scott,
COCOA Director