The 2 sides to Halloween

Positive – little kids ( Princesses, Football players, Ninja Turtles, lady bugs, Disney characters, Superman, sometimes their chaperoning parents also in costume ) going from door to door asking for a treat. We usually gave Butterfingers and/or other individually wrapped goodies at the parsonage. There is something really special about hearing squeaky little voices saying “Trick or Treat”, and watching the amazed reaction when you let them pick a piece or two of candy from the treat bowl. It’s like, “Wow, somebody I don’t even know is giving me the greatest thing in the world” (Think about that as an illustration of God giving His Son).

Community interest, friendship and Christian kindness are the order of the day.

Then there’s the negative - some foolish people toy with occult costumes and scary ideas, and say and do wicked things, from our Christian stand point may even sometimes do unspeakable things. They make Halloween scary and evil. Actually, you don’t have to wait for Halloween to be scared these days, just turn on the t.v. Every other show is about werewolves, zombies, ghosts or vampires.

This is where even the negative side of Halloween can be used by God for promoting His purpose the good news of the gospel, Because the church opens the Bible and declares these things are not real. They don’t exist. There is a power that overcomes physical death and spiritually deathly things. It is stated in Paul’s clear definition of the gospel in Romans 1:1-4;

…the gospel of God, (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

Christ’s resurrection conquers death, and all the scary things that circulate around in this world. We believers in the resurrected savior are raised spiritually when we are born again and will be raised physically from the dead when Jesus comes again. And when being born again truly happens we are delivered from any service to sin or the devil, because the resurrected believers are made like the Lord Jesus Christ.There should be no fear of the Halloween stories, the false or the true, for Christians because the resurrected Son of God has all power and we are kept by Him. And, yet, because they are less influenced by the Bible than they are by t.v., movies, and the culture around us sometimes some Christians, even solid Bible believing Christians, are moved to superstitiously or spiritually fear such things. An ancient prayer asks, "From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!" That’s the spirit! We can still pray that prayer. We know the Lord can and will deliver us, His people. We can experience the positive side of Halloween, and be victorious over the negative side, making it a cultural celebration of both fun and faith.