Photo courtesy by Reggie “Blackgoat” Reyes.
Halloween celebration is one of the things I’m hype to be part with. Christmas and New Year celebrations are too common for me. Only at Halloween where I can do “costume preparations” and scared the hell out of people; Until today. A few days ago, I created some ideas on how to participate again in a Halloween Event at one of the shopping malls at the south. As a Believer, putting up a “lighter” costume is way better than the scary zombie (which I usually do). But I felt the Lord spoke to me at that moment and said,
“Are you going back to your OLD SELF?”
At the back of my head, I immediately responded “no, I’m not. I’m just doing it for fun, Lord”. I felt confident about my “Christianism” answer. But He asked me again, doing His best to make me understand the question. And that thought about the “Halloween costume planning” finally hit me, getting to the point of saying NO to it for good.
Photo courtesy of the owner.
The “Old Self” and the “Dead”
When I started to follow Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I know that my sins in the past are a way “beyond cure”. The Bible already stated that “everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT). The term “old self” in the Bible is similar to who we are before Christ: “dead in sin”. But thanks to God’s glorious love and mercy for us, He “showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). His death on the cross is more than just giving us forgiveness and eternal life. It’s also giving us “new life” and “reconciled” us again with God.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)
…even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!). (Ephesians 2:5)
These truths in His Word creates a full conviction in me to not participate any longer in those Halloween events. Not because of the church nor even the rules of Christianity. These things in the past are no longer who I am today. They’re as good as dead and it’s up to my convictions whether if I still want to bring the dead back to life.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. – Colossians 3:1-4 NLT
How about you?
On the recent post that Pastor Paolo Punzalan, he quoted an article from Travis Allen about how Christians should respond to Halloween. The article summary stated:
Ultimately, Christian participation in Halloween is a matter of conscience before God. Whatever level of Halloween participation you choose, you must honor God by keeping yourself separate from the world and by showing mercy to those who are perishing. Halloween provides the Christian with the opportunity to accomplish both of those things in the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s a message that is holy, set apart from the world; it’s a message that is the very mercy of a forgiving God. What better time of the year is there to share such a message than Halloween?
It’s up to you on how to respond. In summary, the reason why I’m “NO LONGER” want to participate in any Halloween events is simply because my relationship with Jesus is far more important than me being happy. I am not saved by grace just to go back to the grave that I used to live in. We are made to bring LIGHT and LOVE to the world and participating in Halloween is not part of it. You may have fun at the moment, but knowing the ETERNAL JOY of having a relationship with Jesus Christ is far better than candies, the costumes and the temporal excitement that this world can give. And that’s the message of the Gospel.
“From darkness to light, From death into life, His grace changes changes everything.”
What shall I do then? Just simply LOVE GOD, FOLLOW HIS WAYS AND LOVE OTHERS AS HE LOVED US FIRST. It’s that simple. Make it not just an event that I should avoid but an OPPORTUNITY to speak light and share the good news with everyone.
P.S. One more thing. Because the name of this blog is “Love Teacher Angel”, there’s no way that I will promote any fear in my blog site. For “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.- 1 John 4:8”. Make sense, isn’t it?
Let me know your insights and let’s talk about love and acceptance.
Let me know your insights and let’s talk with love and acceptance. ?
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