Because of Jesus, death no longer produces fear

By Editor | November 7, 2013 |

This past week, our American culture celebrated Halloween.

I have to admit that I enjoy Halloween. I know many of my Christian brothers and sisters may be shocked that a pastor would ever admit to enjoying Halloween, but I have to be honest with you. I really do enjoy it. Maybe it’s the kid in of me. Maybe it’s the candy. Maybe it’s the Vandalia Lions Club Halloween Parade. Maybe I’m just a little bit warped in the head, and I just enjoy spooky stories, scary movies and haunted houses.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not in favor of the occult and worshipping demons or anything like that. And, yes, I realize that Halloween has its origins in ancient Celtic pagan practices. And, yes, of course, many people take their observances of Halloween way too far. So let’s be cautious in how we observe Halloween, but come on now, any holiday where the main activity is to walk from house to house getting candy has got to be fun! So I will respectfully disagree with my Christian brothers and sisters who choose to refrain from observing any and all Halloween activities. (I’ll still love you, even if we disagree; and I’ll even share my trick-or -treat candy with you.)
There’s a bit of Christian history involved around Halloween, as well. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III declared Nov. 1 as a day to commemorate all saints and Christian martyrs, by 1000 AD, the church would come to observe Nov. 2 as All Saints Day, a day to honor the dead. No doubt, the medieval church was attempting to replace ancient pagan practices with a similar but officially Christian observance. So Halloween is a time when we think about death and dying, and maybe that is what makes it so scary.
Many times, we are afraid of dying when we don’t know what will happen to us after we die. That’s why things that “go bump in the night” are frightening; we’re afraid that they may take our life. That’s also why Halloween is full of ghosts, goblins, witches, vampires and other symbols of the undead; we’re afraid that they may take our life, or turn us into the “undead” like them. But for those who truly know Jesus Christ, there should be no fear of death. He has conquered the grave and death, so there doesn’t need to be any fear for our eternal future. And that is very good news. Death could not hold Jesus, nor does it have any hold on us, if we trust in him for our salvation.
In I Corinthians 15:22, the Apostle Paul tells us that “everyone who belongs to Christ will be given a new life.” A little later in that same chapter (in verses 54 and 55), he quotes the prophets Isaiah and Hosea when he explained, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” This has long been one of my favorite scriptures. You see, we are naturally afraid of death because we think of it as a defeat. But if it has been swallowed up in victory, then it is not a defeat. And if death has no sting, then we need not be afraid of death or goblins, or witches or anything else that “goes bump in the night.”
Come to think of it, maybe that’s why I enjoy Halloween, because all the fear is gone. Maybe I enjoy Halloween because I’m not afraid of what happens after death. I see Halloween as a reminder that death is not the end.
Because I’ve already given my life to Christ, I can look death straight in the eyes and say, “I’m not afraid of you!”