Admittedly, this is a topic I myself have struggled with when my children were younger and at home. As a new Christian looking to lead my family to the Lord, I did not want them participating in halloween activities. One of the great helps during this time was our church family. On that night we gathered at the church for bible themed activities.And yes, we gave out candy as prizes for the best bible themed costume and for the games.
Part of the reasoning of the church was that we did not want our children having to be riduculed by their friends for not having any candy, but it also was a time to teach the bible in a fun way, many children outside our church were invited and attended.
As believers, we are called to take the light into the darkness, not run away from it. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:5, NLT).
Halloween is a night that is celebrated all over the world as a night that glorifies evil and desensitizes children to things that the enemy loves. So why do we, as Christians, hesitate to represent God in the middle of that darkness?
In a culture that usually ignores death and gloryfies the supernatural as childish things, as evidenced by a New York Times article titled “How to Live with a Ghost,” our annual obsession with the undead, the paranormal, and the macabre reveals an increasing exceptance of evil. By reducing the demonicto yard décor and costumes, we lessen the truth about this celebration. Domesticating darkness is a false solution for believers and unbelievers alike.
We die, and our loved ones die and are lost to us. Christian hope doesn’t soften any of this. We diminish the gospel when we rebrand evil as impotent or death as a “graduation” to heaven. Our hope lies instead in the One who has conquered these things in his own body and who will one day destroy them forever.
I think we would all agree that this world needs Jesus. I think we would all also agree that God has called us to share the good news of the gospel with those around us. Yet, for some reason, there is a disconnect between those concepts and Halloween. Why are we allowing the devil to have any of our days? Instead, why don’t we make it our mission to use Halloween as an opportunity to spread the gospel? Children are coming to our doors, asking us for something.
And we have the one thing that will make a difference in their lives, the one thing that will last eternally, the one thing that will be the difference between life and death. Again, the question is, is Halloween based on godly themes such as the idea of peace, freedom and salvation or does the holiday bring to mind feelings of fear, oppression and bondage?
As you think about Halloween this season, its origins and what it stands for would it be best to spend time dwelling upon its themes or to shed light upon what lies below the surface of this holiday’s celebration? God is calling humanity to follow Him and to “come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you” (2 Corinthians 6:17).
