Celebrating Death?

This morning, Emry and I went on a run. It’s been nearly a week since we’ve been on a good run. She’s had a cold and I didn’t want her out in the cold, frosty mornings. But this morning wasn’t as cold, she’s better and we were both glad to be out in the fresh air.

I think autumn is my favorite time to run. It’s cool and crisp. I can see the puffs of my breath. And the leaves are lovely to look at as they change colors every day. However, the beauty of God’s colored creation is somewhat marred as we run up and down neighborhoods, admiring the reds and oranges and,,,oh! The inflatable spiders, skeletons hanging in trees and makeshift tombstones with creepy faces and spider webs covering them.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed that recent years have sparked more and more décor for Halloween. I’m even beginning to think that more “decoration” is put out for this holiday than for Christmas. Which is more than a little disturbing. I don’t really like those huge inflatable things people tie down in their yards (especially when some yards in Pittsburgh are hardly big enough to hold one), but I’ll take a cute polar bear in a Santa hat over creepy black widow spiders any day.

I’m not here to get on a soapbox and say Christians should avoid Halloween like a black plague. They shouldn’t take their kids trick-or-treating. If trick-or-treaters come to their house, they should shoo them away anyway possible. They shouldn’t let their kids dress up and should write letters to their teachers explaining why their kids don’t celebrate Halloween and how evil it is. Instead, we should celebrate the Reformation, and memorize the 95 Theses, and have an extra prayer night for all those evil people out there (other Christians not as holy as we included) who are out dressed as a princess getting candy in a sack. Since Emry is far too young to be dressing up and doesn’t even know what candy is, the questions that arise with Halloween are not a bridge we have to cross yet. I know people I admire and respect on all sides of the Halloween coin. So, I will leave such decisions up to Christian parents who truly want to glorify God and respect them for the conclusions they prayerfully come to. Just as I do about other things like clothing, schooling, vaccinations and eating organic food.

However, there is one thing I want to say. As Emry and I were out this morning, we passed a small yard decorated (can you even call it that?) as a graveyard. Of course, it was one of those silly ones versus scary ones – one that had funny names on the “tombstones” like I.B. Dead. Still, it got me to thinking about death.

Honestly, graveyards don’t scare me. I find them interesting, reading names and epitaphs and wondering who those people were and what sort of life they lived. But I would still never put one in my yard. Why? Because, to me, it feels like you’re trying to celebrate death.

But don’t Christians celebrate death? I asked myself. I mean, when a fellow Christian dies, we rejoice that they have gone to Heaven to be with our Savior.

Exactly. We’re not celebrating their death – we are celebrating their life. Their eternal life.

We as Christians honor, respect and preserve life. That is why abortion is so evil. Why euthanasia is so horrible. Why suicides are sad and murders so hateful. Life is precious. God Himself created life. He breathed it into Adam and Eve. And He desired to preserve it…until sin entered the world and brought death. Heinous sin seeks to snuff life out. It wants to destroy what God has created. And so, God gives eternal life to those He has chosen. Death’s victory is destroyed. When a Christian dies, he simply discards the shadowy life he held precious on earth for the glorious life with his Savior. And that is worth celebrating.

So, regardless of where you stand in the mix of Halloween, I hope you will step back and remember what we should celebrate: life. Life here on earth, yes, but more especially our future life in Heaven. I can’t wait.