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A Light In The Darkness
With the Fall
season upon
us and the
weather beginning to bring a chill to the evening air, we are starting
to see signs of the holidays approaching. As Christians, the word
“Halloween” stirs up mixed feelings among our
community of believers. But, whatever your Harvest time traditions
include, it is difficult to escape the barrage of costumes, scary
decorations, pumpkins, and candy that flood our daily
“haunting” grounds. So, as a mother of two small
children, it is important to me to incorporate as much Christ-like
influences to a holiday that is otherwise lacking in holiness.
As a child growing up, one of my favorite things to do at this time of year was to carve Jack-O-Lanterns with my five older siblings . We would find the largest open space in the house, which was usually the basement or the kitchen floor, and spread out newspaper from wall to wall. I loved squishing my fingers in all the gooey strings and seeds inside the pumpkin. This family tradition is one that I continue to participate in with my own children. There is, however, one very significant difference. As we carve our pumpkins, we talk about how the Jack-O-Lantern can be used as a symbol of Christ’s love for us. (I know this may be challenging some of you, but hang in there. I am sure you will be blessed by this story).
When I
was a teenager, I heard a sermon about the Jack-O-Lantern which I am
going to call “A Light In The Darkness”.
The
preacher began with an uncarved pumpkin on the stage and asked,
“What is the first step in creating a
Jack-O-Lantern?” After a few logical responses from thecongregation, he stated, “First, it must be
Chosen”. Wow! In the same way that we go to the local patch
and select our pumpkin, so Christ looks down among the many
and chooses us individually to be his very own. He continued,
“Secondly, It is bought with a price”. (I am sure
you can make the necessary parallels without me spelling them out for
you). As, his sermon progressed, he illustrated the remaining
points on the pumpkin he had on stage. While picking up a knife he
said, “Next, you cut a hole in the top, reach deep inside,
and remove all of the junk that has been growing within.”
This is perhaps one of the more painful things we as Christians
experience at the hands of God, but how necessary it is for us to allow
Him to clean out the mess we have on the
inside. “Fourth”,
he stated, “we draw a face on
the front and give it a new identity”. Praise God,
that he does not allow us to be the same as we once were. In Him, we
are a New Creation! “And Finally”, he said in
closing, “we put a light inside of it.” What an
amazing illustration of how Christ’s love comes to live
within us and shine through us.
As we sat in the
sanctuary looking up at the Jack-O-Lantern, we were all awestruck by
the message we just heard. “This is not the end of the
story,” the pastor said. “For Jack-O-Lanterns are
not meant to stay indoors in a house that is already lit”.
Just then he had someone turn off all of the lights in the sanctuary.
“They are made to go out into the darkness and shine their
light for all to see.”
So this harvest season, if you decide to make Jack-O-Lanterns with your children, share this simple story with them. It is a wonderful way to incorporate God’s love into this coming holiday so that we may continue to be “A Light In The Darkness”.
Copyright © 2008-2015 Carrie Neely
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