Trick or Treat

I know this is a few days overdue but I think since there are still pumpkins and spooky decorations garnishing doors on my street and candy in my kitchen it seemed timely. Halloween is somewhat of a controversial subject among believers so I am going to not even touch the topic as far as "is it or is it not okay to participate."

All I know is that in 2nd grade around a certain holiday week, at my Christian school we had a spelling test. The book had the word Halloween as one of our spelling words but the teacher changed it to Christmas so as not to offend some students. So being the studious 2nd grader that I was, I studied only the words on our test. Then I got sick on the day of the test and had to take the make up test. Would you believe the word Halloween was on our make up test?? Seems totally unfair. Even to this day I want to find out where Mrs. Weaver is and ask her about this injustice. Needless to say, I did not know how to spell Halloween, missed it on the test and still often misspell it to this day. Thank goodness for spell check!

Other than misspelling the word, Halloween brings back fun memories of dressing up and trick or treating in our childhood neighborhood.  Usually there was a little chill in the air, and Mom would make us eat dinner before we could go out and gorge ourselves on candy.  Dinner was always something easy like grilled cheese and tomato soup or hamburger soup.  There was always that one house that was scary to walk up to and had some hidden person ready to spook you before you rang the doorbell.  There were the kids that were a little too old to be out getting candy and they always rang the doorbell way after you were already home counting your candy.  You had the people who parked their cars on your street and let out a van full of kids to raid your turf's sweets.  The memories go on, not to mention the costumes.  I think I was a Pound Puppy, cheerleader, ballerina, Raggedy Ann, a box, little orphan Annie, and a cat, to name a few.

 Even now adults get really into the holiday.  Dressing up as a celebrity, movie or tv character, or even newsworthy reality stars seem to have been the top picks this year.  Why do we like retreating back to our childhood holiday?  Is it for the candy? The adrenaline rush of being a tad bit spooked?  Feeling childish?  I think there is something nostalgic about the fall and winter holidays that bring out the kid in all of us.  We get to fall back into the mindset of an easier time and let some of the worries of the world fall off our shoulders.

It would be nice to have the innocence and naivety of a child.  To not be held responsible for knowing the consequences of eating all your Halloween candy in your room long after your parents have gone to bed.  But sadly, we can't act like kids and get away with anymore.  We must increase our knowledge and behave as such.  We can't throw caution to the wind because that's what we did when we were in 2nd grade and nobody got mad.  Our words, our thoughts, our reasons and our actions all have adult consequences. 

Same with our faith.  We must put away or stop falsely relying on our "children's church" knowledge of the Bible and put into practice the amazing abundant life that Christ had in mind for us as we grow in our walk with Him.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.



-1 Corinthians 13:8-13 (NRSV)

Just like Paul tells us in the above verses.  We put away our childish actions and see more now as adults and if we continue to abide in faith, hope and love we will begin to fully realize what is in store for us as children of God!

So I can still get dressed up or eat one too many pieces of candy this fall but I need to also know that my 2nd grade faith needs to grow up so I can begin to know more of the full faith, hope and love that God has for me.

Redesign: Something about the fall makes me want to carve pumpkins, eat chili and throw a party. I think these two invites would be pretty fun for just such a get-together.