Let it Shine: Halloween is Our Night.
For those Christ has given the victory, there is no day too haunted, no night too dark, and no tradition too ugly to be redeemed.
You know the song:
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”
(And then the call-and-response part:)
“Hide it under a bushel?” — “NO! I’m gonna let it shine!”
…Except on Halloween, apparently…
For one night out of the year, Christians who normally live out that song loud and proud decide to hide — to turn the porch lights off, pull the blinds down, and retreat inside while the rest of the world walks the streets. Why?
Now, before you roll your eyes, this isn’t about whether or not you carve pumpkins, dress up, or go trick-or-treating. Just like with any other holiday, we have the freedom to decide how (or if) we want to participate. Everyone approaches cultural holidays differently. Some go all out (like my family), while others go all out…to eat instead. Maybe you simply just don’t like this man-made candy-fest, and that’s perfectly fine. You do you. I’m not here to debate that.
What I do question, however, is the notion that followers of Jesus — the very people called “the light of the world” — must intentionally retreat on the one night when “the world” literally knocks on our doors.
I get it. Halloween has roots in some freaky pagan stuff. But when we believe we must intentionally retreat on “All Hallows’ Eve,” we might actually be revealing something faulty in our understanding of the gospel.
On the cross, Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him (Colossians 2:15).” He died that “He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14).” The enemy has already been defeated (1 Corinthians 15:57) and will soon be crushed under our feet (Romans 16:20). “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:5).” It was finished on the cross - a total and complete victory. Now, “God’s Son holds them (His children) securely, and the evil one cannot touch them (1 John 5:18).”
“No Power Of Hell, No Scheme Of Man, Can Ever Pluck Me From His Hand; Till He Returns Or Calls Me Home, Here In The Power Of Christ I’ll Stand.”
We have nothing to retreat from. Jesus’ death on the cross was powerful enough — and His Spirit in us strong enough — for all 365 days of the year. Not just 364.
If we’re not careful, it can sound like we give more power and attention to a defeated devil, to human tradition and folklore, or even to plastic Halloween decorations from Walmart, than to the truth of Scripture itself. For those Christ has given the victory, there is no day too haunted, no night too dark, and no tradition too ugly to be redeemed. The great philosopher Abraham Kuyper once said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’”
(That goes for October 31st, too.)
This doesn’t have to be a night to intentionally retreat, but rather an opportunity to rejoice with confident smiles (and candy bars in hand) that Jesus reigns as victoriously on October 31st as He did on October 30th, and as He will on November 1st.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising (Isaiah 60:1–3).”
As a believer, I carry this light. And that’s why Halloween is one of my very favorite nights of the year. It may not feel as big as the words in Isaiah 60, but in my own corner of the world, I’ve always felt the Lord’s glory shining bright as I run around my neighborhood (in whatever costume my family dresses me up in), handing out candy.
And every time my kids knock on our neighbors’ doors, I see it as an announcement of the freedom we have in Christ — testifying to the One who sets the captives free, who disarmed the rulers and authorities, put them to open shame, and gave us complete victory to walk in every single day of the year.
So, remember — Halloween is our night. Because every night is our night.
“Hide it under a bushel?” — “NO! I’m gonna let it shine!”