Yes, yes, it's also Halloween, but Halloween's one of those holidays I can't help but resent. Sorry if that makes me sound like Wendy the Whiner. But I remember the good old days--back before cell phones, color TV, and electricity--when Halloween simply meant figuring out how (on the afternoon of Halloween) to assemble your "hobo" costume by rummaging around your daddy's closet.
Today, forget the jack-o-lantern. That's for losers like the Fountains. Now, people decorate their yards, buy or make elaborate costumes, cook complicated spooky treats, and spend--wait for this--350 MILLION dollars on pet Halloween costumes. Are you kidding me? Have we lost our minds? For the record, Mr. Bingley is going this year as...um, a character from Pride and Prejudice dressed up in a large black dog costume and carrying a log for the fireplace. You know it gets drafty in Merry Old England in the early 1800's.
So, yes, have fun on Halloween. After all, there's a lot of chocolate floating around today, and that's always a good thing. But don't forget it's also Reformation Day--the day Martin Luther, then an obscure monk, bravely nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg church in 1517. Luther courageously confronted the church over widespread corruption involving things like the selling of "indulgences" that promised forgiveness of the sins of deceased loved ones. He insisted that salvation is by faith alone, in Christ alone. The Protestant Reformers believed that Scripture alone--not church rulings or human traditions--should guide our lives and that every person should be able to read God's Word for themselves.
Thank You, Father, for our brave forefathers and mothers who were faithful to You all the way to the end--many of them willing to give their lives so that others might know the truth of the Gospel. Might we be live this day thankful for their sacrifices and faithful ourselves all the way to the finish line. To God be the glory.
To God be the glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment