October 31st is a day that our culture goes all out on candy and costumes. But for what purpose? To celebrate the dead, darkness and evil. Sound a little extreme? Well just look at the decorations: Witches, skeletons, ghouls, coffins, monsters, etc. As Christian parents what is our relationship if any with this holiday? Does it have a place in our homes? Do we participate in it? Redeem it? Receive it? Or Reject it?
Well…
In the past I have tried to “sanitize” Halloween
Lydia and I have talked at great length about this. We have quickly ruled out receiving it. However our hang up has been “Is there a way for Christians to redeem Halloween?” Trunk-or-treats at a local church, turning the porch light on and passing out candy, or dressing up and collecting candy?
Our conclusion as of now has been that it is not possible to redeem a holiday that is dedicated to celebrate Satan, death and evil. In the past I have tried to “sanitize” Halloween through entertaining ideas of going to trunk-or-treats and painting it in a more harmless light. I think that I have been inadvertently missing an opportunity to show it for what it is.
Then do we hide in a hole and pretend it doesn’t exist? No.
I believe that as Christians we are supposed to walk into the dark places and shine. I understand that for some this will look different. Here is what it looks like for our family:
- We will teach. This year we want to use Halloween as an opportunity to educate our kids at the reality of the spiritual battle we as Christ-followers are engaged in.
- We will pray. The most impact that we can have is praying that the God of light will shine through the darkness of a night like this. We will pray that people will have the eyes of their heart enlightened to Jesus’ love for them. We will pray that God’s power will drive back the darkness. We will ask Jesus how he wants us to be on the offensive for the kingdom.
- We will praise. We will sing songs of worship, talk about God’s goodness. And as people celebrate darkness, we will celebrate the One who overcame the darkness.
This Halloween my challenge is to be intentional in what you do and pray how Jesus would want you as children of light to shine. Let’s realize what Halloween really is. Let’s use it as a way to show our children that there is a real battle out there and how Christ-followers engage in it.