October has arrived. The weather is cooler, days are growing shorter and Halloween decor is springing up in yards all over town. We use to celebrate the 'holiday' until my husband became a Christian. He began to ask, "Why?" Funny, because I had been asking the same question year-after-year. Most of Halloween glorifies witchcraft, monsters, and the walking dead... all things the Bible speaks clearly against. We liked dressing up though and gathering candy door-to-door. I didn't allow creepy or unbiblical costumes, but still.

We began to search for alternative options. We had a harvest party one year, helped out at a trunk-or-treat another... one year while ministering in the south we even visited a "Judgement House" - AMAZING! (if you have one in your area, check it out!) We even tried hiding in the basement bedroom with all house lights off. Then, one day, God put the opening verse in front of me and an epiphany....

Jesus is the light, on a night known for darkness and death, this verse was something God planted in our hearts as a mission statement. What if the open door on Halloween night was an example of this glorious light and hope? What if, instead of reflecting the darkness we blared light into it? It was a John 3:16 moment with added actionable hope in John 12.

Jesus has come "into the world", in Greek: kosmos - the ungodly multitude, the whole mass of men alienated from God and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ, things earthly including things which seduce us away from God and are obstacles to Christ. Worldly. Jesus came into this. How did he come? In what state?

Jesus came "as light", in Greek: phos - the metaphor for which is truth and its knowledge together with the spiritual purity associated with it, it can also notate reason and mind and the power of understanding especially for moral and spiritual implication.

So, Jesus comes into a world alienated from God AS truth and reason for moral and spiritual means and all we have to do is believe, to have confidence in and entrust Him and we will no longer remain or stay in darkness? Can't we just flip a switch and turn on the light? Is darkness just another word for "lost"? Yes, but even deeper, "darkness", in Greek: skotia - is obscurity or, metaphorically, ignorance of divine things and associated with wickedness the result of which is misery in hell.

Darkness is NOT simply lost or lacking light... it is a wandering ignorantly to an end of eternal separation. It is not an angle which should be tampered with as Christians... it is, however, a place we should be actively reaching out to, praying through, and shining light into. Ephesians sums this up well:

God is TRUTH, He is light in darkness - a way to see and be relieved of lostness, worry, fear, etc. Man is ignorant, lost, fumbling - man cannot light the darkness himself! He is miserable and hopeless without divine light.

... the epiphany? We wanted to reflect LIGHT in the darkness. We wanted our front porch to become a ministry point on that one dark night a year when souls were brought to us, by the masses! We custom ordered silicone glow-in-the dark bracelets with "Jesus is the Light" debossed on one side and "John 12:46" on the other, we handed them out with fun Bible tracks and a "Jesus Lights Our World" glowing cup packed with candy.... because life with Jesus is so sweet! We carved pumpkins with crosses and other Christian symbols and we prayed for God's protection over our household as we ministered. We invited friends to come dressed as characters and scenes from the Bible (talking donkeys and warring "giants" welcome!) and we played games and music and laughed and ate and opened the door with every ring, letting the Light pour into the darkness because Jesus is our hope and dawn is coming.

We have so much to celebrate as Christians, so many ways to take the Light gifted to us and set it out there for all to see in a window in a house on a hill. Jesus came as truth and reason with power to understand. Let us embrace this glorious attribute of His powerful presence and share it every day, every where, but especially when darkness closes in.

Walking through the Word is a series I started some years ago on my original blog as an opportunity to share a weekly devo. I'm excited to bring it back here on the new blog! For October we will be exploring the idea of LIGHT in the darkness personified through Jesus in the book of John.

Do you have alternative ways of approaching Halloween as a Christian? Comment below!

Let the Light shine through,

Greek concordance references from blueletterbible.org

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By the way... have you seen? My first KDP (Amazon) book released last month! TWO actually. The second is a a guided journal/planner ideal for homeschool families to help remember their homeschool days! Click on images to learn more....