Alternative or Opposition?

I was driving around town on Saturday, October 31, and saw many people at a particular church. There were inflatable slides and all types of “carnival” type rides and I figured they were having a celebration of the anniversary of the Reformation. Not really, but wouldn’t that be a good idea? I knew the real reason why all the hoopla was going on. It was a “fall festival” that the church was having for the young people. This has grown to be common all over the south, and I suppose the rest of the country. The “fall festival” always seems to fall on Halloween. Why is that? The reason is the church is trying to give young people an alternative to Halloween. I’ve never understood Halloween. I stopped trick or treating in the second grade because I thought it was childish. Really. Now I have come to realize that Halloween should probably be called Beg-o-ween because it teaches children to go up to their neighbors and total strangers and ask for a handout. But I digress. Why as the church do we think we need to give an alternative? Alternative means something is a choice that is comparable to something else. Hamburger or chicken? Steak or shrimp? How about both? Do we really want to give an “alternative” to a day that has come to be a celebration of death of sorts? Or should instead of giving an alternative we present our opposition? This concept doesn’t just go with Halloween. We should not present our faith as a healthy alternative to what the world has. If that is the case we our saying that our faith is just as valid as any other faith or even no faith. We must love those in the world while opposing the world. Martin Luther opposed the worldly Catholic Church. Maybe we should celebrate that opposition with a Reformation Day. Instead of going to people and asking for candy, we could give them the gospel. We could put sound doctrinal tracts in the hands of the people or put them on their doors as Luther did the 95 Theses on the door of Wittenburg church. Perhaps instead of turning off our lights to tell others that we have nothing to give we could give to them the message of the Light of the world. Just a thought.