Morning Devotional
October  30, 2005
"Halloween" (Part 4)     
    by Don Emmitte

Jesus shouted to the crowds, "If you trust me, you are really trusting God who sent me. For when you see me, you are seeing the one who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the darkness. If anyone hears me and doesn't obey me, I am not his judge--for I have come to save the world and not to judge it. But all who reject me and my message will be judged at the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken. I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me gave me his own instructions as to what I should say. And I know his instructions lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say!" (John 12:44-50 NLT).

 

If you read yesterday’s devotional, you know that I feel that Halloween may be used for good rather than evil. In fact, I believe that about nearly anything that exists. Of course there are some exceptions, so don’t stop reading yet! I have a suggestion for those of you with young children that might make an eternal difference, as you get ready for this year’s Halloween. Use the following suggestions to teach your children about God’s love as you carve a pumpkin for display.

 

§         First, prepare a place for your pumpkin carving. Set newspapers on a table and get out the knife, spoon and bowl. Cut an opening in the top of the pumpkin. Have your kids pull out all of the seeds and scrape out the inside of the pumpkin. Ask them how they think the stuff from the inside of the pumpkin might be like sin in their heart? If they are very young, explain the similarity to them drawing the illustration that they are both “yucky.” Then explain that the way you cleaned out the inside of the pumpkin is similar to the way God’s grace cleans out our hearts. Jesus takes all the “yucky” stuff out of our lives and we are clean.

 

§         Second, draw a happy face on the pumpkin, and then use the sharp knife to carve it out. When you are finished, read aloud 2 Corinthians 5:17 and/or Ephesians 2:10. Explain how the pumpkin is “different.” Draw the illustration to how it has become a “new creation.” It has a face now; it used to be just a pumpkin, but now it’s a jack-o’-lantern. Then go on to explain how God makes each of us a new creation when Jesus comes into our hearts. When Jesus comes into our hearts, we become new creations, just as our pumpkin became a new creation. Read Matthew 5:14-16.

 

§         Third, light a candle and place it in the pumpkin. Turn off the room lights so everyone can see the candlelight coming through the pumpkin’s face. This is the way God wants our light to shine. God wants others to see how much we love Him; God wants our light to be seen by others. If they are old enough, ask them how they can let their light shine to others?

 

Note: Some of the ideas in this activity were adapted from the children’s book The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs, published by Tommy Nelson (1995), and her article The Pumpkin Patch in Single-Parent Family (Focus on Family, October 1995).